Days Off
by SJTiger
Summary: A series of one-shot stories that explore what the ninja do when they aren't saving Ninjago. Events are in semi-chronological order. Most stories are K plus, but one or two might be T.
1. First Meeting

**Author's Note: Okay, this is the start of the one-shots I mentioned at the end of What Makes A Mother. The events are in semi-chronological order. Some might take place before What Makes A Mother (like this first one for example), but most take place in between What Makes A Mother and the second book.**

**Speaking of the second book, I know I said I wasn't going to start publishing that until April because I was going to Thailand, but there's been a development. Thanks to the coronavirus, I can't go. I was going to fly on Korean Air, but last night I learned that I would have to endure a 14-day quarantine before I could do anything. I could try and book a flight on a Middle Eastern airline, but because of how the virus is spreading there, I don't want to risk it. The virus is also starting to gain a real footing in Thailand, and I don't want to risk getting stuck there because the U.S. won't let me back in, so I will have to postpone my trip until the fall or next spring. All I can do is hope I get at least a partial refund on my tickets, which may or may not happen because there's no official travel ban or travel restrictions. Yet. **

**All of this means that I will be able to start publishing the second book much sooner than I thought I would. I might start that next week, I have not yet decided. I have enough of these one-shot stories planned out to get me through until April, but I might end up going back and forth between Days Off and the second book. Time will tell. **

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Anna watched as Cole played with his food. She wondered if having a picnic was a good idea. It was a beautiful day outside, and there were lots of other families also picnicking, but the three-year-old boy was distracted by everything from the other kids to the ants crawling on the blanket. He was currently holding one of the squares of his cut-up peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his hand as he watched a beetle crawl on his leg.

"You need to eat your sandwich," Anna reminded Cole.

"I am," Cole said as he shoved the whole sandwich square into his mouth.

"Smaller bites, Cole, or you'll choke. What would your father think?"

"Ah theawy."

"I can't understand you when you talk with your mouth full. Chew, swallow, then talk."

Cole looked dejected as he swallowed. He held her gaze as he silently grabbed another sandwich square and bit it in half.

As they ate, a nearby family caught Anna's eye. There was a young couple with a boy around Cole's age who had spiky hair and a little girl who was maybe a year old. The boy kept looking at her but quickly looked away if Anna returned his gaze.

As Anna packed up the picnic stuff, the boy and his mother walked over. He acted shy, but his mother nudged him forward.

"'Scuse me, are you a real soldier?"

"I am a real soldier," Anna said. She had almost forgotten she was wearing her uniform. She had meant to change into something more comfortable, but there wasn't time before she had to pick Cole up from the babysitter.

"Cool! Do you shoot people?" The boy stepped closer.

"No. I fly aeroplanes really high and really fast."

"Woah! Mama, can I do that?"

"Maybe when you're older, Kai." His mom smiled at him.

"Aww. I wanna do it now!"

"Anna, can I go play?" Cole asked.

"Are you done eating?" Anna asked, eying the carrot sticks he hadn't touched.

"Yeah."

"Yes, you may play. Stay where I can see you," Anna said.

"Me too, Mama? Can I play?" Kai asked.

"Go on."

The two boys ran off.

"I'm Maya, by the way."

"Anna."

"Your son is cute. And well behaved," Maya said as she helped Anna clean up.

"Thank you." Anna did not feel like correcting her. Besides, in six weeks, that would all change.

"Is his dad at work?"

"Yes. He works weekends, I usually have them off, so usually it's just me and the lad."

"That sounds rough."

"Eh. It does make weekends like this harder."

"Weekends like this?"

"I have an air show tomorrow. His dad is trying to get off tomorrow, but we have to wait and see." Anna prayed Lou could get off. She knew Cole hated babysitters and daycare. He had seemed both relieved and disappointed that she was the one to collect him that day and not Lou.

As the two watched their kids, a third boy who looked a little younger than Kai came running up to the two boys. Kai and Cole didn't seem to mind and the three were soon playing airplanes together.

A few minutes later, Maya's husband slowly helped their daughter walk over to them. The little girl reached out for her mom.

"Hello, little miss." Maya took her daughter.

"Kaaa," The little girl tried to escape her mother's grasp.

"No, you can't go running after your brother," Maya said. She placed her pouting daughter in her lap.

"Now she is adorable," Anna said.

"Did you hear that, Nya? Yeah? This is my husband, Ray."

"Hi. I'm Anna."

"Hello. A soldier, huh? What do you do?" Ray asked.

"I'm a fighter pilot."

"Really? Neat."

"Apparently, there's an air show tomorrow. I think we should go," Maya told her husband.

"And what about Dr. Saunders? We told him we would visit the museum. He even gave us those free passes."

"We could go now and go to the air show tomorrow. Besides, I think Kai would enjoy the air show a lot more than the history museum," Maya said. She gestured over to where the three boys were playing airplanes.

"True."

"If you do come, I'll be in plane number four," Anna said.

"Okay. I've never heard of a woman in the demonstration squadron before," Maya said.

"I'm the second ever. It's an extremely exclusive squadron and competition is fierce."

"Ah."

"Maya, if you want to go to the museum today, you best go get Kai," Ray said.

"I will."

They looked up to see the three young boys talking to a teenager with blonde hair. Something about the teen seemed off to Anna. She jumped up and headed over to the kids, Maya on her heels. Anna saw an older woman, possibly the third boy's grandmother, also walking towards the group.

"Kai, it's time to go," Maya said.

"Aww," Kai pouted.

"Say bye to your friends."

"Bye." Kai held his mother's hand as they left.

By this time, the other woman arrived on the scene.

"Jay, sweetie, you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers."

"But-" Jay protested as she took his hand.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to cause alarm. I am Zane."

"It's fine," Anna lied. Even though she highly doubted this guy worked for Morgen, a teen talking to a bunch of little kids didn't sit right with her.

"I don't wanna go!" Jay yelled as he was dragged away.

"Cole, it's about time to go meet your father," Anna said.

"Okay." Cole took her hand and walked back over to their stuff. Ray, Maya, and their kids were still there packing up.

"Bye," Kai said.

"Bye," Cole replied.

"Maybe you two will see each other again. We come to the City many weekends," Maya explained.

"Maybe," Anna said.

The two families parted ways.

At the airfield the next day, the two families did meet up briefly after the show. Cole was excited to play with his new friend, but Ray and Maya couldn't stick around as they had to return home.

"Maybe we will see each other again. We usually come to Ninjago City about once a month," Maya explained.

"Maybe. We are moving in a few weeks, though," Anna replied.

"Oh. Good luck with that. Where are you moving to?"

"Oh, just on to the base. It will be easier for everyone we hope. Plus, they have good schools.

"Ah. Well, if we don't see you again, then I hope you do well."

"You as well."

Anna looked for Ray and Maya whenever she took Cole to the park, but she never saw them again. By the time she and Lou married and moved onto the base, she knew she would ever run into them again.

Cole only asked about his friend the first time they went to the park after the air show.

"Well, he's not here today. Maybe you will see him again in the future," Anna explained.

"Really?" Cole asked.

"Possibly. You don't know what the future will hold."


	2. Root Canal

Nya was glad no one was around to see her put her hand on her left cheek. Lately, whenever she ate sweet foods on that side, her teeth hurt. She suspected she had a cavity, but she didn't want to go to the dentist. She had managed to hide the pain from the others for almost three months now, which wasn't easy with seven other people living in the monastery. As long as she ate sweets with the other side of her mouth, she was fine.

"Nya?"

Nya whipped around and saw Zane.

"Oh. Hi, Zane. What's up?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"I've noticed you've been touching your cheek a lot lately."

"Oh. Yeah, I bit the inside of my cheek and it's a little sore," Nya lied.

Zane said nothing and left. Nya knew she would have to be more careful.

* * *

Nya guessed Zane said something to the guys, or at least to Kai and Jay, since she saw those two watch her every move. They tried to hide it, and Kai denied it when Nya cornered him, but she knew they were watching her. Soon enough, Lloyd and Cole were also watching her. Someone apparently told Wu she was acting strange, because he gave her a lecture about the importance of relying on others, not keeping secrets, and how the team is only as strong as its weakest link.

* * *

The truth came out two weeks later. The six ninja plus Nikki, Skylor, and P.I.X.A.L. were having a movie night and Nikki brought two hundred "Happy Retirement Rhonda" extra-large sugar cookies with her.

"Please, help yourself. If you want, I can bring you more. We've got plenty," Nikki explained.

"I think this will last us a while," Zane said.

"What happened? Rhonda not retire?" Kai asked as he grabbed a cookie.

"Lady ordered a thousand of these. Even though Mom asked her at least five times, and she insisted that yes, she really did want that many, no she wanted twenty-five. And then she had the audacity to complain that she didn't like the handwriting. Do you know how hard it is to write 'retirement' on a cookie?"

"Customers are the worst. Please tell me you banned her," Skylor asked.

"Oh yeah, right after Mom threatened to take her to court if she didn't pay."

"I love a happy ending."

As everyone settled in and started watching the movie, Nye grabbed a couple of cookies and very slowly ate them as she snuggled with Jay. About halfway through, she wasn't paying attention and bit down with her bad tooth. She tensed up while she waited for the pain to subside.

"Nya?" Jay asked.

"I'm fine. I bit my cheek," Nya said.

"That was weeks ago. If it's still hurting, you should go to a doctor and make sure it's not infected," Zane said.

"Or more likely she has a cavity. She's always been afraid of the dentist," Kai pointed out.

"Says the guy who's afraid of swimming," Nya retorted.

"Hey, water can kill you. I've never heard of anyone dying by going to the dentist. When was the last time you even went to the dentist?"

"I don't know."

"Nya, you have to go to the dentist," Jay said.

"No, I don't." Nya crossed her arms.

"Yes, you do. Even if we have to tie you up and drag you there."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're outnumbered, Nya. Plus, we have Cole, who has super strength, and can turn solid ground into quicksand," Lloyd said.

Nya carefully reviewed her options. She could probably escape one or even two of the guys, but five on one were not good odds.

"... Fine. I'll go to the stupid dentist."

* * *

Nya knew she couldn't avoid the guys forever. No doubt Jay was telling the others all about the visit. Six cavities and she needed a root canal. Eighteen years old and she needed a root canal. She wondered what the guys would do if she canceled it. Maybe someone would capture them and she would have to miss it

Researching what exactly happens in root canals didn't help matters. She actually tried running away at one point. Unfortunately for her, Kai knew all of her moves and everyone was waiting for her in the Samurai X cave.

"You can't run from this, Nya," Kai said.

"Sure I can. I'm a legal adult. I don't have to go," Nya argued.

"Yes, you do."

"You're outnumbered five to one," Lloyd pointed out.

"What are you so afraid of?" Jay asked.

"Everything. I hate it all and I'm not going."

"It's really not that bad."

"I hate it. They invade my personal space."

"They can give you something to relax you. Some dentists even can put you under and you just sleep through everything," Cole pointed out.

"Really? How much does that cost?"

"I'm not sure exactly. My insurance usually covers everything."

Nya wasn't sure her insurance would cover that. Cole managed to stay on his dad's plan for the time being, but the rest of them weren't as lucky and had to get cheap insurance through a government plan. Even if it did cover it, she wasn't convinced sleeping through the procedure was the right thing to do. Just the thought of being put under kept her up all night. And since she couldn't sleep, she thought about everything that could go wrong.

When Wu rang the gong for sunrise stretches, she jumped at the sound and threw her pillow at the door, knocking over her bedside lamp in the process.

"Nya, are you okay?" Kai asked through the wall.

"Just peachy," Nya snapped.

The guys avoided her during the stretches. Even Jay kept his distance. After sunrise stretches, she hid in her room until lunch. She only ventured out because she was hungry. The came around the corner and found the guys making sandwiches. Kai and Lloyd were debating if honey ham was better than black forest.

"Hi, Nya," Jay said when he spotted her.

"Hi. Cole, can I ask you a question?" Nya asked.

"Sure." Cole put his sandwich on his plate.

"How did you find out you were allergic to morphine?"

"... Uh… why?"

"I want to know if I should get tested before I have the root canal."

"Nya, true morphine allergies, like what I have, are extremely, extremely rare. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark."

"... Zane, what are those odds?"

"One in forty quadrillion," Zane replied.

"And what are the odds of having a morphine allergy?"

"That's impossible to calculate. Up to ninety percent of reported allergic reactions to opioids may actually be pseudoallergies or simply the known side-effects, but it is impossible to know for sure without testing if someone has a true allergy."

"See? You'll be fine," Cole said.

"You know you never answered my question, right?" Nya asked.

"I'll tell you after your root canal, alright?"

"I'd much rather know now."

"I'm with Nya. I want to know," Kai added. The others murmured in agreement.

"Fine. Just keep in mind that everything was told to me after the fact. When I was eleven, I had my appendix taken out. The surgery went fine, they stitched me up, gave me something for the pain, and put me somewhere to recover and wake up. At some point, I stopped breathing and no one knew why. They gave me an epi-pen and some allergy medicine, and I was fine, but I spent the next several days in extreme pain because they didn't know what caused it, and they couldn't start testing until everything was out of my system. If you want any more details, you'll have to ask my dad."

"Ugh, that sounds awful," Lloyd said.

"It really wasn't that bad, but then again, I wasn't awake for the initial attack, and they kept me sedated most of the time, so I don't actually remember anything. I know it happened, I just don't remember it. Happy now?"

"No," Nya replied.

"You'll be fine." Jay held her hand.

"You don't know that."

"Uh, we do know that. We also know you'll be in a lot less pain and therefore less… grouchy," Kai said.

"Grouchy?" Nya crossed her arms.

"Uh, snippety?"

"You're not your usual chipper self," Lloyd said before Kai could dig himself into an even deeper hole.

"I see," Nya said dryly.

"We all must do things we do not want to do," Zane said.

"... I know."

* * *

The day of the root canal, Nya locked herself in her room. They all tried to get her to come out. Thankfully Kai managed to talk her out before they had to get Cole to break her door down. While Kai took her to the dentist, Jay was upset that Nya didn't want him with her.

"Don't take it personally, Jay. Kai is her brother. He's had years of practice getting her to do stuff she doesn't want to do," Lloyd said.

"Yeah. If she feels more comfortable with him there, you have to respect that," Cole added.

"But we're engaged! What's going to happen once we're actually married?" Jay asked.

"I don't know. Right now, Nya needs Kai, and you'll be here once they get back," Lloyd said.

"I guess," Jay sighed.

"Think of it this way: Kai is stuck in a dentist's waiting room for hours while we aren't. We can do a lot more to pass the time," Cole pointed out.

Jay, Cole, Zane, and Lloyd ended up playing video games the rest of the morning. Just before lunch, they all got a text from Kai warning them not to say anything. A few minutes later, Kai led a groggy Nya through the monastery to her room.

"How was it?" Jay asked when Kai returned to the living room.

"It was so boring! They only had three magazines to read! Then my phone battery started to die about halfway through, so I had to turn that off for the rest of the time."

"I meant Nya."

"It was bad. They needed laughing gas just to restrain her, and they had to knock her out so they could do their jobs. I don't know what they're going to do when she goes back next week," Kai explained.

"Oof. Where is she now?" Lloyd asked.

"Sleeping off the meds. I would leave her alone until she's ready to see people."

The others agreed and gave Nya space. She came out of her room just after dinner, tired, grumpy, sore, and a little swollen still. She wandered into the kitchen and found Lloyd washing the dishes.

"Hi, Nya. How are you feeling?" Lloyd asked.

"Eh."

"We saved you some chicken soup from dinner."

"No thanks. Where is everyone?"

"Cole is in his room, Zane is making a dumpster run, Jay is doing something to the sparring bot, and Kai is somewhere."

"Thanks."

Nya headed to the dojo to talk to Jay. Sure enough, he had taken the sparring bot apart and was fiddling with the processor.

"Jay?" Nya asked.

"Nya! Hi!" Jay jumped up and hugged her.

"Keeping busy?"

"It needs updating. How are you feeling?"

"Kind of sore. Do you know where Kai is? I think he has my pain medicine."

"I think he went out with Skylor," Jay said as he started texting Kai.

"Oh."

Jay kissed her good cheek.

"What was that for?" Nya asked.

"Do I need a reason to kiss you?" Jay teased as his phone buzzed.

"No. Is that Kai?"

"Yeah. He thinks your prescription is on his desk."

"Ah. I hope you weren't upset I didn't want you there today," Nya said as they walked to Kai's room hand in hand.

"A little, but the guys said not to take it personally."

"And you shouldn't. Kai's my brother. He's always taken care of me for as long as I can remember."

"I know. Now, if you had wanted Lloyd or Zane or Cole with you today…"

"Oh never. I'd only ever ask for Kai or the guy who needs to help me plan a wedding," Nya grinned as they reached Kai's room.

Jay gave a nervous chuckle, but sighed when he realized she was serious.

"Whyyy?"Jay whined.

"Because someone else needs to be tortured today."

"I told you: we should just elope."

"And I told you no. You just don't want to do the mother-son dance."

"Have you seen my mom try to dance?! Of course I don't want to dance with her!"

"Too bad. Besides, it's not like we're paying for it. My parents are doing that. Twice now."

"It's not our fault we had to postpone." Jay handed Nya her medicine.

"No, and they understand why. But they're still paying, so we need to finish planning."

* * *

"Okay, Nya, we're all finished here."

Nya opened her eyes. She was at the dentist getting her filling and cap on her tooth. She had no idea what they gave her this time, but even though she wasn't totally knocked out, she felt like she was floating on a cloud the entire time. She tried to talk, but her mouth didn't want to work properly.

"Someone's getting your brother. But everything looks good. Make sure you brush and floss twice a day, use a toothpaste with fluoride in it, as well as mouthwash. I have a goodie bag for you, and the receptionist can schedule your next cleaning for you when you check out."

"Ahh naa…"

"She's all ready for you, and she did a good job today."

Nya turned and saw Kai walk into her room.

"Good. Come on, sis, let's go." Kai had to help Nya stand up without falling over. He took her to the desk to check out.

"When would you like to come back for a cleaning?" The receptionist held up a calendar.

"Nefa…" Nya mumbled.

"She'll be here in six months," Kai said.

"Na I won."

"Yes, you will. You really think we're just going to let you skimp on your oral hygiene after this?"

Nya grumbled all the way back to the monastery. After a nap, she had to admit that she did feel much better, and she was glad she could eat sweets again. She even decided she was glad she had this done before the wedding. She did a much better job at following the dentist's instructions, and she hoped she would never have to have another root canal for the rest of her life.


	3. The Wedding Dance

**Author's Note: This takes place before What Makes A Mother, except for the last part, which takes place after. If you don't remember, Jay and Nya were two weeks away from their wedding when Cole went into a coma and they had to postpone. Enjoy.**

* * *

Jay and Nya were completely and absolutely clueless. The two of them could usually figure anything out, but not this time. They knew Kai, Zane, and Lloyd couldn't help them, though Zane had offered to do research. They decided to ask Cole for help next on the off chance he could actually help them. They found him training with Lloyd in the courtyard.

"Hey, Cole?" Jay asked.

"Yeah?" Cole replied without stopping his training.

"Have you ever been to a wedding before?"

"I have lost track of the number of weddings I've been to. They're very boring."

"You've really been to that many weddings?" Lloyd asked.

"I have a lot of cousins. Dad says I'm not allowed to ditch."

"So what do people do at a wedding?" Nya asked.

Cole tripped Lloyd and pinned him down with the handle of his hammer so he could look at Jay and Nya.

"Cole!" Lloyd yelled.

"Excuse me?" Cole asked.

"What goes on at a wedding?"

"Uh… the bride comes in, the priest or whoever says stuff, the bride and groom exchange vows and rings, and it's official."

"Cole, please let me up!" Lloyd wheezed.

"Sorry." Cole helped Lloyd up.

"What about the dancing and stuff?" Jay asked.

"That's the reception. It can be fun, or not, depending on what happens. I've been to plenty of weddings where the best part was the food."

"Of course you would think that," Nya teased.

Cole glared at Nya.

"What?" Nya asked.

"That's not the reason I said that. Sometimes the food really is the most memorable part of the whole thing, whether or not it's edible. For instance, at my aunt's wedding, she served viande mystѐre."

"What is that?" Lloyd asked.

"Fancy mystery meat. No one ate it, or at least no one at my table did. As long as you don't serve that, you should be fine."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing is really required, but you should at least try to make it somewhat entertaining for your guests. It's entirely up to the two of you to determine what will happen at the ceremony and reception. I've been to extremely traditional weddings, extremely nontraditional weddings, and everything in between. Heck, my aunt had a llama and an ostrich at her wedding."

"Why?" Lloyd asked.

"No one knows. You couldn't even ride them."

"Uh, I don't think we'll do that," Jay said.

"Don't blame you. My aunt's wedding was memorable for all the wrong reasons. But like I said, it's entirely up to the two of you. Most people have at least the father-daughter dance, some people have a mother-son dance, they may or may not have audience participation, even the wedding cake isn't guaranteed. One of my cousins had five hundred mini cupcakes in lieu of a traditional cake."

"Back up a minute. Mother-son dance? That's a thing?" Nya asked.

"Yes."

"And the audience can participate?"

"If you want."

Nya grinned and went back inside.

* * *

Jay ran down the hall and burst into Cole's room. Cole was on his bed talking on his phone. He glared at Jay. Jay knew Cole hated it when people didn't knock, but this was an emergency.

"Hi, Jay. Come on in," Cole said sarcastically.

"This is an emergency!"

"Is there trouble?"

"Not that kind! I need your help! Nya is trying to figure out what dances we're doing at the wedding. And she wants me to do a mother-son dance! I don't even know how to dance! I don't think she knows either, so I don't know why she's making me do this!"

"... I'll call you back." Cole hung up the phone and stood up.

"Was that your dad? Can he help?"

"It was my grandfather, and no."

"Why not?" Jay chased after Cole, who was heading to the living room. Nya, Kai, and Lloyd were there watching a movie.

"Because Dad is on tour right now. Nya, I hear you want him to do a mother-son dance?"

"Yes," Nya said.

Kai and Lloyd started to snicker.

"Don't laugh. Everyone will be doing it," Nya continued.

"Excuse me?" Kai demanded.

"Hey, we aren't the ones getting married," Lloyd added.

"I know, but Cole said the audience can participate, so they will," Nya replied.

"You are aware Zane and I don't have mothers, right?" Cole asked as he sat on the couch.

"Yes, so the two of you are exempt. You three, on the other hand, are not."

"Nya, it's my wedding too, and I don't want to do it," Jay said.

"Well, I do."

"Why?"

"Because I think it's a good idea."

"Okay, but you aren't the one who actually has to do that dance. I am, and I say no." Jay crossed his arms.

"You're doing the dance."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are." Nya put her hands on her hips to signal she was done.

Jay couldn't think of anything to say, so he just gave Nya an angry look. Lloyd, Kai, and Cole took advantage of the pause in the fight to escape.

* * *

Jay sat down at the counter and sighed. He and Nya weren't speaking to each other at the moment, none of the other ninja wanted to get involved, Wu was his usual cryptic self, so Jay had asked the only other person who might be able to help to meet him at a diner in the middle of nowhere.

"Son!"

"Hi, Dad."

Ed walked over to the counter and sat down next to Jay.

"I was glad to get your call. Although I was surprised when you said you didn't want your mom here," Ed said.

"She can't know what we're going to talk about," Jay responded.

"Oh, is it a surprise? It's not her birthday, is it? Darn thing is always sneaking up on me."

"No, Dad, it's not Mom's birthday. Nya wants to have a mother-son dance at the wedding, but I really don't want that. We had this huge fight about it and everything. I don't know what to do."

"Oh, gee, son, that's too bad. Uh, have you tried talking to Nya about it?"

"Yes, that's how we got into a fight and now we aren't speaking. Or at least she's not speaking to me." Jay fiddled with the napkin in front of him.

"Oh. Well, I don't know what to say. Your mom and I never have fights that bad."

"How come?"

"Well, we figured out a long time ago the key to a happy marriage is communication and compromise. You aren't always going to win, and you'll have to give a little most times."

"What did you and Mom do when you got married?"

"Oh, we didn't have the money for a big, fancy wedding, so we just went down to the courthouse and eloped. We had a small party after for friends and family. Nothing fancy."

"Maybe if her parents were still missing we could do that. But she wants all the bells and whistles. I get it, but I don't seem to get a say in anything."

"All I can say is wait for her to calm down, then try to talk to her again. You and Nya are good kids, you'll work it out."

"Maybe."

"Don't give up hope, son. May I offer some advice?"

"Will that stop you?"

"When me and my sister were kids, we fought something awful. Our mom would sit us down, hear us out, and make us compromise. Maybe one of your friends could help you out."

"Maybe."

* * *

Lloyd was recruited to help negotiate wedding plans for Jay and Nya. Jay and Nya could not agree on anything. Lloyd was doing his best to keep peace, but he was struggling. Cole, Kai, and Zane were eavesdropping in the living room while pretending to play games on their phones. After almost an hour of hearing those two argue, Cole got up and went to his room. He returned a moment later and motioned for Lloyd to step aside. Kai and Zane came over to see what was going on.

"Okay, since the two of you are clearly incapable of making decisions, we're going to do what my family does." Cole slammed a deck of cards onto the table.

"How are playing cards supposed to help us?" Jay asked.

"The cards will decide who makes each choice. You guys know how to play poker?"

"No," Nya said.

"Uh… Blackjack?"

"Nope," Jay said.

"Blackjack is super easy. The goal is to get as close to twenty-one without going over. Face cards are worth ten, aces one or eleven. What's a decision that needs to be made?"

"What kind of cake we're having," Nya said.

Cole shuffled the cards and gave them each one card face up.

"Seven beats five," Jay exclaimed.

"Not so fast. Nya, do you want another card?" Cole asked.

"Sure," Nya replied.

Cole gave her a queen.

"That's fifteen. You need a six or lower. Do you want another card?"

"Yes."

"... Eight. You bust. Jay, what kind of cake?"

"Chocolate," Jay said.

"That's not fair!" Nya whined.

"It seems fair to me," Kai commented.

"I agree," Zane said.

"Ditto," Lloyd added.

"So you deal us cards and the winner gets to make that decision?" Jay asked.

"Pretty much," Cole said as he shuffled the cards.

"Fine. Go again. I want another chance to get my flavor," Nya said.

"Nya, you're the only one here who likes carrot cake," Kai argued. The others agreed.

"... Ugh. Fine. We'll have boring old chocolate. Deal the cards, Cole. I'm going to win this next round."

Cole helped them for a few more rounds until they got the hang of it. Jay and Nya stayed up late playing Blackjack and making wedding decisions.

"Thanks for letting us borrow these," Jay told Cole when he returned the cards the next morning.

"Of course. You decide on everything?" Cole asked.

"Yeah. Do you know any good dance schools? Nya won the song choice for the First Dance."

"Just do a slow circle. You'll be fine. What did you decide about the Mother-Son dance?"

* * *

Cole did his best to hold back laughter as he filmed Jay, Kai, and Lloyd attempting to dance with Edna, Maya, and Misako respectively.

"You're not going to put that on the internet, are you?" Nikki asked.

"I'm tempted to, but no. I'm not that mean," Cole replied.

"Could I get a copy of that?" Libby asked as the dance wrapped up.

"Me too please," Skylor added.

"Yeah, I'll email it to you."

"Email what now?" Kai asked.

"Nothing," Cole said innocently.

"Cole, can I borrow your phone?" Lloyd asked.

"Absolutely not."

"He says it won't go online," Nikki said.

"I don't want to take that chance," Lloyd said.

"Do you really want to make a scene at Jay and Nya's wedding?" Cole asked.

"Wedding won't last forever," Kai pointed out.

"Come on, Kai. One day, you'll look back on this and laugh," Skylor said as she took his hand.

"I highly doubt that."

"Besides, it's not Cole you have to worry about."

"You wouldn't."

Skylor chuckled. Everyone slowly made their way back to their seats for cake. Nikki leaned against Cole.

"You realize they'll get revenge when you get married, right?" Nikki asked.

"I expect nothing less."


	4. Kai's Twenty-First Birthday

**Author's Note: Okay, so, important announcement. This is the last one-shot story I have written that "needs" to be published before the next book. I do have other one-shots mostly ready to go (editing is such fun), but they aren't as critical to the plot of the next book. My plan is to go back and forth between these one-shots and the next book which will be called (drumroll please...) The Way Home. Look for the first chapter of that to drop in the next day or two. The Way Home will take place a year after What Makes A Mother.**

**For this one-shot, just in case you forgot (or didn't read What Makes A Mother), Lionel is a professional poker player. Enjoy.**

* * *

Kai lept out of bed. He normally hated mornings, and he rarely got out of bed before noon the mornings Wu didn't make them train. This morning was an exception. This day was all about him. He sauntered into the kitchen but was disappointed to find only Misako there.

"Good morning, Kai. Happy birthday," Misako said as she put a pot of coffee on to brew.

"Thank you. Where is everyone?" Kai asked.

"Still in bed, I imagine. After all, Wu did give everyone the morning off."

"True."

"Did you have any thoughts on breakfast?"

"Hm… strawberry pancakes?"

"Sounds good." Misako started to pull out the ingredients, as well as some bacon.

Kai decided to change while breakfast was cooking. As the smell of bacon wafted through the monastery, he heard the others get up. He got back to the kitchen just behind Jay and Nya.

"Happy birthday, Kai," Zane said.

"Thank you. Cole, you've been twenty-one for a while now. What do you suggest to drink?" Kai asked.

"... Coffee," Colegrumbled as he poured himself a cup.

"Like Celtic Coffee?"

"It's seven in the morning, Kai."

"What's your point?"

"It's too early in the morning. You'll have plenty of time to drink later."

"Oh come on. Wu can't stop me now!"

"Cole is right, Kai. You have the rest of your life to enjoy adult beverages," Misako pointed out as she pulled the bacon out of the oven.

"I guess," Kai sighed.

"Wu says alcohol isn't worth it," Jay said.

"Where is Uncle Wu?" Lloyd asked.

"Meditating probably," Zane said.

"Yeah, when was the last time he took a morning off?" Nya asked.

"It has been a while," Wu said as he snuck up behind them, making everyone jump.

"Why do you insist on doing that?" Lloyd asked.

"Because I can. Kai, happy birthday."

"Thank you, Sensei." Kai took his seat at the table.

"Do you have any big plans for today?" Misako asked as she served the pancakes.

"Get Cole to share his beer?"

"Not gonna happen," Cole argued.

"Why not? It's nice to share."

"If you really want an adult beverage, then I'll make you something later."

"What?"

"It's a surprise."

* * *

Kai found Cole in the living room watching TV with Lloyd. After spending nearly two and a half hours on the phone with Skylor, Kai was ready for Cole's surprise.

"Cole?" Kai asked.

"I know. To the kitchen."

Cole went into the kitchen and started pulling out various ingredients. Kai and Lloyd watched.

"This looks like your recipe for Snogfruit Punch," Lloyd observed.

"And you're right. But Kai can finally try the real recipe," Cole said.

"Real recipe?" Kai asked.

"Yep. Wu wouldn't let me make the real recipe until I was twenty-one, and then he made me promise not to give any to you guys until you were legal. So I just made all my recipes virgin."

"How many recipes do you have?" Lloyd asked.

"Let's just say in another life, I could've been a bartender," Cole said as he put stuff into the blender.

"Wait, you're only a few months older than me," Kai pointed out.

"Yes, and?"

"How did you learn all of this then? Not here, obviously."

"No. I learned this from Nana."

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"Relax, Lloyd. Nana refused to let me put alcohol in my drinks, she refused to let me make alcoholic drinks. All I could do was make the virgin versions while taking note of what to add to make it good for when I was older."

Jay, Nya, and Misako wandered into the kitchen.

"What are you making?" Jay asked.

"Adult Snogfruit Punch," Lloyd said.

"If you want the nonalcoholic version, I will give you some," Cole said.

"Yes please," Nya said.

"I think I would like to try the adult version," Misako added.

Cole poured six glasses of the punch and gave three of them to Jay, Nya, and Lloyd.

"Where's the alcohol?" Kai asked.

"Just a moment." Cole opened the cabinet where they kept the spices and reached into the back of the top shelf. Even at six-four, Cole had to stand on his tiptoe to reach what He was after. He pulled out a bottle, looked at it, pulled out a second bottle, and put the first one back. He then got some limes out of the fridge.

"What do you have back there?" Jay asked.

"Nothing for you, which is why I keep it out of everyone's reach." Cole poured in the alcohol until he decided it was enough. He then cut a lime in half and squeezed both halves into the drink. He stirred the beverage and gave it to Kai.

"So Snogfruit Punch plus lime juice and vodka?" Kai asked.

"Whisky, actually. But I do have some vodka-based recipes, as well as a rum punch recipe. Try it. Sensei, would you care to try a Snogfruit Whisky Sour?"

Everyone turned to see Wu enter the kitchen.

"No, thank you," Wu said.

"You're missing out, Wu. This is delicious," Misako said.

"I'm okay. I hope you didn't give any alcohol to those who shouldn't drink it yet."

"We got the boring version, Sensei," Nya said.

"You said your grandma taught you this?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Cole said.

"Clearly we need to go visit them."

"No. They've very strict about who visits them that isn't family."

"We're like brothers. That's close enough, right?"

"Nope." Cole took a sip of his drink and started to clean up his mess.

* * *

Kai annoyed Cole into submission. Cole still wouldn't take Kai to visit his grandparents, so he took him to an exclusive night club in Ninjago City that Friday night instead.

"Consider this your present," Cole said as they approached.

"I've heard rumors of this place. Are you sure we'll get in?" Kai asked.

"Totally. Just don't go crazy, alright? I only have so much money." Cole showed the bouncer his ID.

"Okay." Kai pulled on the collared shirt Cole made him wear. He didn't understand why he couldn't wear more casual clothes.

"He's with me," Cole explained when the bouncer didn't want to let Kai in.

The bouncer grumbled and barely left enough room for Kai to get by. Immediately upon entering, they were bombarded by flashing lights, loud music, and a huge crowd of people. Kai followed Cole over to the bar. Cole handed over his ID and credit card.

"Oh, Burtchenelli. Of course. Your party is over in that back corner. First round is on the house. Enjoy." The bartender gave Cole and Kai each a bottle of beer.

"Okay. Who's here, do you know?" Cole asked.

"No idea."

"Okay. Don't let anyone else buy anything on my card, and don't let him by anything for anyone else either."

"Duly noted."

"Were you supposed to meet people here?" Kai yelled over the music.

"No. It's probably my cousins and their friends. I'm gonna go spy on them," Cole yelled back.

Kai followed Cole around the perimeter of the dance floor. In the back corner was a group of five people. Three of them noticeably gasped when they spotted the pair headed their way.

"Ah, so you're the culprits," Cole said as he approached the table.

"What are you even doing here?" One of the girls stood up to block his path.

"Celebrating, not that it's any of your business."

The girl spun around and sat back down.

"Kai, that's Giselle, Lionel, Marco, and I don't know the other two," Cole explained.

"The twins are with me," Lionel said, kissing their hands.

"Right. Giselle and Lionel are my Uncle Wil's kids, and Marco is married to Giselle."

"Hi," Kai said as he sat next to Cole.

"You're a ninja, aren't you?" Giselle asked.

"Yep. Fire ninja."

"That's so cool."

Kai's many fans quickly discovered his presence and he was soon surrounded. Eventually, he was whisked away by the crowd while Cole watched.

"Jealous?" Lionel asked Cole.

"Nah. He loves the limelight," Cole said.

"Huh. Wanna play?" Lionel took out a new deck of cards from his jacket.

"Against you? I'd need a lot more of these to even consider it." Cole took a sip of his beer.

"You're loss."

"Tell me, what do your rivals think now that you're old enough to drink?"

"They think I can't hold my liquor, but it's only improved my game. I'll be on TV next week. I made it to the semis. You should watch."

"Watching someone else play poker is very boring."

"I'll give you that." Lionel put his deck of cards away.

* * *

"Kai! Be quiet! We aren't at the club anymore!" Cole hissed. They were late getting back to the monastery. Way late. It was three in the morning. If they woke anyone up, they were in serious trouble. They would've been back sooner if Kai hadn't gotten sick five times on the way home.

"BUT THE STARS ARE PRETTY!" Kai sang.

Cole groaned. It was hard enough flying his dragon in near total darkness, but trying to keep Kai from falling off while he was flying in near total darkness took every ounce of concentration Cole had. He reached around behind him to keep Kai on the dragon for the thousandth time that night.

"Yeah, we'll see just how pretty you think they are in the morning." Cole had his dragon vanish a few feet above the ground like they always did. He was prepared for the landing, but Kai ended up face down on the ground.

"THE GROUND HURT ME! OHH!" Kai sang.

"Will you be quiet?! Honestly! I have half a mind to leave you here," Cole whispered.

"You wouldn't do that 'cause you're too good a friend."

Cole sighed and grabbed Kai's wrists. He managed to get Kai mostly onto his back and half-carried/half-dragged Kai to his room.

"Wee!" Kai said.

"Shh, or I will put that video online," Cole threatened as he dumped Kai onto his bed.

"What video?"

"You'll see in the morning. Go to sleep."

* * *

Skylor slammed open the courtyard door, making Jay, Nya, and Lloyd jump.

"Where is he?" Skylor demanded.

"Kai is still in bed, Cole is in the kitchen making a mystery liquid," Lloyd said.

It was nearly noon. Cole and Kai were lucky Wu had decided to cancel Sunrise Stretches, though Cole had managed to drag himself out of bed at eight for breakfast. Kai was still passed out. Zane informed them that the morning headlines included a five-minute-long video of Kai making an idiot of himself at the club.

Skylor stormed into the monastery and made her way to the kitchen. Cole was pouring a thick green liquid into a glass.

"Cole!" Skylor yelled.

"Skylor," Cole deadpanned.

"What the heck happened last night?"

"He was under control when I got up to use the bathroom. When I got out, he was on top of the table. I don't know how he got there. But it wasn't me who uploaded that video."

"When he told me that you would be there with him, I thought that meant you would keep him out of trouble."

"You know how he gets around fangirls. And he's lucky the bouncer got to him before I did and kicked him out."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Before you do, make sure he drinks this, and he might want some Asprin." Cole put a bottle of Asprin and the green liquid in front of Skylor.

"What is that?" Skylor sniffed the liquid.

"Old family secret for curing hangovers. It tastes horrible, but it works. He has to drink all of it."

"And how do you suggest I wake him up?"

Cole pulled out an air horn and gave it to her. Skylor took the Asprin, the glass, and the air horn and made her way down the hall.

"Where did you get the air horn?" Lloyd asked.

"Jay's room," Cole said.

"Why were you in my room?" Jay demanded.

"I needed an air horn."

"I gave it to him," Nya said.

"Why?" Jay asked.

They heard the air horn go off, followed by Kai screaming.

"That's why," Nya replied.

The air horn went off again, followed by some yelling. About five minutes later, Kai dragged himself into the kitchen. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was about to collapse. Skylor followed him and put the empty glass in the sink.

"What was in that?" Kai mumbled. He was still in his clothes from last night.

"Not telling," Cole said.

Wu and Misako came into the kitchen just then.

"Kai, why are you not ready? It's time for training," Wu reprimanded.

"I'm siiiick, can I please skip today?" Kai whined.

"No. I expect you out there in five minutes."

"Skylor, do you want to stay?" Lloyd asked.

"I wish I could, but I have a restaurant to run. Nya, would you please kick his butt for me?" Skylor asked.

"With pleasure," Nya grinned.

While everyone else went outside to warm up, Lloyd drew the short straw and had to help Kai get ready. They were nearly fifteen minutes late because Kai kept trying to get back into his bed. Kai couldn't be sure, but he thought Wu was going harder on him than everyone else.

After the worst two hours in Kai's life, the ninja were allowed a lunch break. Kai caught up to Cole in the living room.

"Please tell me you're as miserable as me," Kai pleaded.

"I'm fine," Cole said.

"How?"

"Because unlike you, I know my limits. There's nothing wrong with a Friday night beer, but you can't go crazy like you did. Hopefully, you know better for next time."

"What next time?"

"Jay turns twenty-one in eight months."


	5. Childhood Bully

**Author's Note: This is something I wanted to put in What Makes A Mother, but it didn't really fit there, so I left it out. However, with a little bit of tweaking, it fits perfectly here. Enjoy.**

* * *

"I can't decide if I want the chicken and pasta or the pot roast," Jay muttered to himself.

"Nya wants us to bring her back falafel, so we need to order that," Kai commented.

Jay, Kai, Cole, and Lloyd were having a guy's day out, since everyone else was busy. They were at a local diner that had quickly become a favorite after it opened two years ago.

"What are you getting, Cole?" Lloyd asked as he flipped through the menu.

"Either the beef and chicken kabob, or the beef shawarma wrap. Or the chicken shawarma wrap."

"I think I'll just get a burger," Kai muttered.

While they debated what they were getting for lunch, another group entered the diner and sat down at a nearby table. The ninja didn't even notice the other group until one of the guys laughed loudly and Cole stiffened up.

"Dude, you okay?" Jay asked.

"Shh!" Cole glanced over at the other group and quietly gasped before sliding down in his seat so he could hide behind Jay.

The other three looked at the group. There were two guys and two girls, all in their mid to late twenties, laughing with each other. Nothing about them was threatening in any way, which made Cole's behavior even stranger.

"What gives?" Kai asked.

"Nothing. You guys want to go somewhere else?" Cole asked.

"Nya will kill us if we don't get her falafel, so no."

"Are you afraid of them?" Lloyd asked.

"No. Actually, I think I left my wallet in the car. I'll be right back."

Cole practically ran out of the diner. He paced at the edge of the parking lot and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Not even a minute passed before Jay and Kai were outside looking for him.

"Where's Lloyd?" Cole asked.

"Saving the table. Now spill. And don't say you left your wallet in the car when we walked here." Kai crossed his arms.

"It's nothing. I'm fine, really."

"I don't believe you."

"Yeah, you're acting really weird. What's going on?" Jay asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go back inside and eat."

"Not until you tell us what's really going on."

"We don't keep secrets from each other," Kai added.

"I said I'm fine," Cole snapped.

"No, you're not."

"Just drop it, okay? I don't want to talk about it." Cole stormed off in the direction of the monastery.

Kai and Jay had to admit defeat for the time being. They knew from experience if Cole didn't want to talk about something, there was no way they could force him to talk. All they could do was try again once he had calmed down.

* * *

A week later, everyone was at the outdoor market getting groceries for the week. Jay, Cole, and Kai were joking around when Cole suddenly looked very cross. Kai and Jay looked around and saw one of the guys from the diner.

"Okay, seriously, what do you have against that guy?" Kai asked.

"It doesn't matter," Cole said as he threw some carrots into their bag with more force than necessary.

"Obviously it does," Jay pointed out.

Lloyd, Nya, and Zane noticed the tension and came over to investigate. Kai warned them to keep an eye on the guy from the diner. Cole wandered off a little way to get away from everyone. He was pretending to focus on some herbs when the guy walked up to Cole before anyone could stop him.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

Cole turned around to face him.

"What?" Cole asked.

The others quickly made their way over to help, but Cole motioned for them to stop.

"Do you have a problem with me? Because I thought you ninja were supposed to be good and kind and all that, but you seem to have a problem with me. So go on, tell me. What's your problem?" The guy shoved Cole, who didn't even flinch. Cole straightened up to his full height.

"Actually, yes, I do have a problem with you. I've had a problem with you for some time now. I would tell you, but you wouldn't know what I'm talking about since you clearly have no clue who I am."

"Should I know you?"

"Yes, you should. But I get why you don't recognize me. It has been a while, and it's not like I have a broken arm, or a broken leg, or a broken wrist, or a broken nose, or broken ribs, or a black eye, or a concussion, or any sort of injury to help you recognize me. So let me refresh your memory. Go way back, about eighteen years. Your living on the military base when a new family moves in across the street. There's a kid with them who wasn't born into the military brat life. A 'step-brat' if you will. And he's in your childcare group. But he's just a runt, a pipsqueak, a wimp, and a crybaby, so it's okay for you to wail on him on a near-daily basis for the next three and a half years. Ringing any bells yet?"

It wasn't until Cole said "step-brat" that the guy finally recognized him. He put his hands over his mouth and looked over Cole who not only towered over him but looked like he could snap the guy in half like a twig. He went pale and his breath was shaky.

"You did all that to him?" Kai asked.

"And I was only three years old when he first started."

"You're Major Lavinsky's kid… You grew up." The guy tried to back away from Cole, but the others blocked his path.

"Life's funny like that."

"Come on, man, I was just a kid doing stupid kid things. No hard feelings, right?" The guy tried to smile like he was joking around but stopped when Cole continued to glare at him.

"It is not nice to bully others," Zane said.

"What is wrong with you?" Nya asked.

"It wasn't like that. It's just the way things are there. Come on, man, you know what I'm talking about. Call your friends off."

"Billy Sykes, you haven't changed one bit. You're still a sorry excuse for a human being who will do whatever it takes to get your way," Cole said.

"I am not. You clearly don't know what I do for a living," Billy argued.

"Nor do I care."

"You should."

"I don't."

"Whatever. Your loss." Billy tried to sneak past Nya, but she put out her arm to block his escape.

"I think you owe Cole an apology," Nya said.

"At least one for starters," Kai added.

"It's not worth it. It's been almost twenty years and he still hasn't learned his lesson. At this point, I doubt he ever will. Besides, he wouldn't mean it." Cole started to walk away.

"Dude!" Jay yelled.

"Oh, you were wrong, earlier. Anna wasn't a major when she retired. She was a lieutenant colonel. But it was a long time ago and clearly your memory isn't the best."

Cole walked away, and the others soon followed.

"Why didn't you punch that guy in the face? He needs it," Jay asked.

"What good would it do to stoop to his level?"

"Yeah, but he needed to be taught a lesson," Nya argued.

"It's not right what he did to you," Lloyd added.

"Okay, growing up, Anna had one major rule about fighting: never throw the first punch. Unlike Dad, she didn't care if I fought in self-defense, but I couldn't throw the first punch. Didn't really work on Billy, but it worked great on my older cousins."

"Really?" Kai asked.

"Yep. Honestly, Zach was lucky I wasn't allowed to fight back when he sliced my hand open."

The other ninja cringed when Cole showed them a faded scar that went all the way across his right palm.

"But like I said, fighting back never really worked on Billy or any of the other kids on the base."

"Other kids bullied you too?" Lloyd asked.

"Billy was the ringleader. I wasn't born into that life. I moved there after Dad married Anna. I was an outsider and nothing could change that. And Commander Sykes pretty much refused to keep his kid in check, so I was basically a sitting duck to them."

"That's rough, buddy," Kai said.

Cole shrugged.

"Still, it takes a lot of guts to do what you did today," Lloyd said.

"Oh, if he lays a finger on me again, he is so going to get it."

* * *

Two weeks later, Cole was in town by himself. Wu had placed a special order for some tea and needed someone to go get it, and Cole drew the short straw. As he walked towards the shop, he saw Billy coming towards him and groaned.

"'Sup, loser," Billy jeered as he passed Cole.

Cole said nothing as he paused to take a deep breath. When he continued to walk away, he heard Billy growl.

"I said, ''sup, loser,'" Billy growled.

Cole still said nothing. He sensed something flying towards him and ducked just as a large rock flew past him and into the window of the shop he was passing. The owner came running outside, demanding to know who threw the rock. Billy sensed where this was going and decided to make a run for it. However, the second he stepped onto bare ground, Cole turned it into quicksand and trapped him.

"Let me go!" Billy demanded.

"I will. Once the police showed up," Cole said.

"You can't keep me here!"

"It's called a citizen's arrest."

"If this is your idea of payback, it sucks."

"You're the one who threw the rock."

Five minutes later, the cops arrived. True to his word, Cole released Billy so the cops could arrest him. Billy could have talked his way out of the ticket, he could have talked down the fine, he could have even talked his way out of getting blamed at all, but that all changed when he lunged to attack Cole, the cops held him back, and he responded by punching one of them in the jaw. The next thing he knew, he was face down on the ground with his hands behind his back. Cole watched Billy get hauled off as he and the shop owner gave their statements.

Once the excitement was over, Cole got Wu's order and made his way back to the monastery, over two hours late. Halfway up the stairs, Lloyd came running down.

"Where have you been? Wu is furious. He really wants his tea," Lloyd said.

"Sorry, I got held up. The good news is Billy Sykes is going to jail," Cole explained.

"What did you do?"

"Absolutely nothing. I didn't even touch him."


	6. Cameo Appearance

**Author's Note: Burton is just a stage name Cole's uncles use. Wil is Lou's oldest brother and is a theatrically trained actor and single who made the switch over to film. (Their other siblings are Misty, a former model, and Ben, a rock/pop star. Lou is the youngest of the four, if anyone was curious.) People have a hard time pronouncing Burtchenelli correctly, which is why they went with an easier-to-pronounce name. **

**If you want to get a better sense of the costumes, Google "Edwardian era fashion." No points for guessing what movie musical I based this on.**

* * *

It was a slow day at the monastery. Kai, Skylor, Jay, and Nya had made plans to go to the amusement park, but the health officials arrived for a surprise inspection the day before and shut the place down until further notice. Lloyd was trying to get out of going with Zane to a lecture on quantum physics. No one could come up with an alternative activity. They were sprawled out in the living room, flipping through channels on the TV, completely bored out of their minds.

"What's Cole doing? Did he go somewhere?" Kai asked after a while.

"I don't think so. He's probably doing whatever it is he does when there's nothing to do," Jay replied.

"And what is that?"

"Talk to Nikki?" Nya suggested.

"Okay, but what did he do before he got a girlfriend? He's not a partier, I don't think he ever went out by himself, so what did he do?"

"Train? I mean, there's not much else to do," Jay said.

"Yeah... I should've told Mom I'd go grocery shopping with her," Lloyd sighed.

Skylor looked around for a moment, then got up.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked.

"To go see what Cole's up to. You got me curious now," Skylor said.

Everyone else shrugged before getting up to follow her down the hall. Jay knocked on the door. They heard movement inside, and Cole opened the door a moment later, holding his phone to his ear. He stared at the group.

"Can I help you?" Cole asked.

"We were just wondering what you were doing," Lloyd explained.

"Not much. Actually, hang on."

The others watched Cole go back to his open laptop on his bed to do something, then he hit a button his cell phone.

"Uncle Wil, you're on speaker. I apologize, I thought everyone had left, but they're actually all right here. If you want to tell them what you just told me," Cole started.

"You mean 'do you want to be in a movie?'" Wil asked.

The others gasped.

"Yeah, that."

"Sure. I am currently filming a new movie and we are in desperate need of extras. Since one of my nephews is a ninja, the director told me to see if you all wanted to make a cameo appearance."

"Yes!" Jay yelled.

"What movie?" Lloyd asked.

"I can't tell you that until you sign nondisclosure agreements. You can come by the set tomorrow to talk it over with the director, and he'll tell you when to come back for filming," Wil explained.

"What's the address?" Jay asked enthusiastically.

"I'll send it to Cole."

"Wait, is anyone else going to be there? Like, Lionel or Giselle or Angelina or Sylvia or Nate or anyone else who hates me?" Cole asked.

"No, absolutely no one else from our family will be there, and if you tell them about this, you will regret it," Wil threatened.

"You mean besides Grandpa?"

"How the heck does he know?!"

"We were playing Gin online when you called. I muted him for now."

"... Fine, he can know, but no one else. I mean it, Cole. This is top secret."

"Fair enough. Yeah, I guess we'll be there."

"See you tomorrow." Wil hung up before Cole could properly say goodbye.

"That was rude," Nya said.

Cole shrugged.

"How many cousins do you have?" Kai asked.

"Ten," Cole said. His phone chirped as he got a text.

"Wow," Lloyd said.

"Yeah. I have the address. Now, if you'll excuse me, Grandpa is waiting and he is not a patient man." Cole ushered everyone out of his room and locked the door behind them.

* * *

A week later, everyone was in their costumes and waiting for their turn in the hair and makeup department. Jay kept running off to go look at things, and Cole and Lloyd had to keep running after him. Kai's hair was proving difficult, and he refused to get a hair cut, so that left him sitting in a chair for almost an hour while a hairdresser played tug-of-war with his hair.

"Why can't I just keep it like it is?" Kai complained as the hairdresser pulled his hair into a bun on the top of his head.

"Because people didn't have hairstyles like yours a hundred and twenty years ago," Nya said. She was in a simple yet elegant dark red dress with a large floral hat to match. Her hairdresser was currently sticking pins through her hat to make it stay in place.

"Don't you dare touch this." The hairdresser carefully placed a bowler hat on Kai's head, covering his bun.

"The hat looks so stupid," Kai grumbled. The hairdresser actually did a decent job of hiding all his hair while making what did show look natural.

"You don't have to do this," Lloyd pointed out. He played with the monocle he had convinced the costume director to give him to go with his suit and hat.

"And miss out on my chance to be in a Wil Burton movie? I'll suck it up."

"Good."

Just then, everyone was called to set. The set was an airplane hanger redesigned to look like the inside of a three-ring circus tent. Cameras, jibs, dollies, and tracks were everywhere. The extras carefully filed into the stands surrounding the ring, sitting just so to make it look like there were more people than there actually were. The ninja plus Skylor and Nikki sat in a group over three rows. The director came out and gave the audience instructions to always be enjoying the performance, even if it took fifty takes to get right.

The actors, dancers, and stunt performers came out and did their routine. The song played in the background so everyone could hit their marks. The audience did have a participation moment at the very beginning of the song, and the director made sure everyone was in sync. The giant green puppets were a little distracting at first, as were the cameras swinging everywhere, but everyone moved past it to watch the actors work. It was easy for the audience to be enthralled with the performance.

It took all day, but the film crew was able to get enough footage to edit together in post. Before they left, the ninja were able to get some pictures in costume with Wil and some of the other cast members. Kai ripped the hat off and tried to get his hair back to normal the second he was told he could.

It was already dark when they left the studio.

"That woman totally messed my hair up," Kai grumbled as he tried to fix it.

"It's fine, Kai. Really," Skylor said.

"Let's hurry up and get back. I don't want anyone to see me like this."

"I guess you're not taking me home then?"

"Um…"

"It's fine. Go. Fix your hair. I know it's more important than me."

Kai hesitated but smiled when Skylor squeezed his hand.

"You're the best, Skylor." Kai kissed her cheek and summoned his elemental dragon, leaving everyone else behind.

"I'll talk to him at home," Nya told Skylor.

"Thanks. I'll see you all later." Skylor summoned her own elemental dragon and headed back to her house.

"How are those two a couple?" Nikki asked.

"No one really knows," Lloyd admitted.

Everyone else went back to the monastery, except for Cole, who had to take Nikki home.

"This was a lot of fun," Nikki said when they arrived at her house.

"I'm glad you liked it," Cole said.

"Do you think we'll get to go to the premiere?"

"I highly doubt that. Enjoy the rest of your evening. I need to get back. We have Sunrise Stretches in the morning. My favorite," Cole said sarcastically.

"Okay. Good night."

Cole kissed Nikki and started the hour and a half long trip back to the monastery.

* * *

Lloyd was totally bored. The amusement park reopened two weeks later, so Kai, Skylor, Jay, and Nya went on a double date there, and Zane was doing something with P.I.X.A.L. at Borg Industries. Cole was in his room, so that left Lloyd to entertain himself, and it was only eight-thirty in the morning.

"You could help me with the laundry," Misako offered.

"No thanks," Lloyd said as he plopped down on the couch.

As Lloyd flipped through the channels, Cole came running down the hall.

"Lloyd, do you have any plans for today?" Cole asked.

"No, why?"

"They need extras in another scene. Uncle Wil just called me."

"Yes! Let's go!" Lloyd ran to get his shoes on.

"Is this that same movie? With Wil Burton?" Misako asked.

"Yes." Lloyd knew his mom was a huge Wil Burton fan, almost a big a fan as Jay.

"Do you think they need more people? What, with your friends busy?" Misako asked.

"Absolutely. Come on. Nikki's going to meet us there." Cole slipped his shoes on.

Misako put the laundry basket on the couch, grabbed her coat, and left with the two boys.

When they arrived on set, Nikki was just pulling into a parking spot across the street. The four were quickly ushered back to the costume department. They were in and out in record time, and the hairdresser was relieved she wouldn't have to deal with Kai again.

This time, they were on an outdoor set. The four were told to stand in one spot and act like they were talking. Easy enough. Nikki took hold of Cole's arm, and Lloyd and Misako left just enough room between the two pairs for Wil to get in the middle. The director called action, and the song started to play. On his cue, Wil came running down the street, he paused at the group, sang two lines, spun Misako around, and took off running up the street. They did that sequence five or six more times, and the four were told they could leave. Before they left, Misako insisted on getting a picture with Wil as well as his autograph.

The four had lunch at a cafe nearby. There, they agreed not to tell the others about their blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance.

* * *

A couple of weeks before the movie premiered, a package arrived at the monastery for Cole. It was enough copies of the movie's soundtrack for everyone, including Skylor, Nikki, and Misako. Everyone had the soundtrack memorized by the time they went to see the movie on opening day. Wil was not able to get them tickets to the premiere show, so they had to settle to going to the theater close to them later opening weekend.

They had managed to convince Wu to come with them and enjoy an evening out. The group took up the entire back row of the theater. After twenty minutes of previews, the movie started. Everyone was surprised that their cameo scene was split into two parts: the first scene and the last scene of the movie. However, in the next to last song, when Wil ran by Cole, Nikki, Lloyd, and Misako, those four tried not to laugh as the other looked at them in confusion.

"When did you film that other scene?" Kai demanded once the movie was over and they were walking through the parking lot.

"The day you guys went to the amusement park," Lloyd answered.

"And you didn't call us?" Jay scoffed.

"You were all busy, and they needed an answer ASAP, so we went without you," Cole said.

"Yeah, that hairdresser looked so happy when we told her Kai wasn't coming," Nikki added.

Kai scowled and ran a hand through his hair.

"It looked like you all had fun," Wu said.

"We did, Uncle," Lloyd replied.

"I'm glad. It is important to have fun every now and again."

"Didn't we teach you that?" Kai asked.

"Did you?" Wu stroked his beard.

"In the First Realm? We were tied up on posts?"

"I have no recollection of this."


	7. Ninjago Ninja Warrior

**I miss sports. I also miss having regular shifts instead of these 10-12 hour shifts I've been pulling the past two or three weeks. Management finally said "enough with the overtime" and gave me today off! So I finally had a chance to write something since I don't even know how long it's been. Maybe one day I can get back to The Way Home. I also want to do something like Days Off, but with the previous generation of elemental masters. I just need this pandemic to end so I can have time for myself again. (I'm a personal shopper at a grocery store if anyone was curious.) Good thing this pandemic can't cancel stuff in Ninjago. Enjoy my ramblings.**

**Here are my sources. (Go to YouTube and type the URLs below into the search bar, and the first video that pops up should be the correct video. If they don't work, I've also provided the name of the ninja and the year.)**

**Stage 1, Jessie Graff 2016: ** watch?v=gfzm9oNaT-M

**Stage 2, Drew Dreschel 2018: ** watch?v=KCNIUm_Y5z0

**Jumping Spider, Kacy Catanzaro 2014: ** watch?v=6tcGlAfpQ4A

**Stage 3, Daniel Gil 2019: ** watch?v=lnsDw1djnKA

**Stage 4, Isaac Caldiero 2015: ** watch?v=aL57-jfV6QI

**All the Stages together, Drew Dreschel 2019: ** watch?v=gwMg29Decps

* * *

When they got the call, no one knew what to expect. They wanted to do it, there was just one problem: Lloyd was too young. You had to be at least eighteen to participate, and he was only seventeen.

"You guys do it. I'll sit on the sidelines and cheer you on," Lloyd said.

"Are you sure? They'll probably invite us back next year," Kai said.

"All the more reason for you to do it this year, before I'm allowed to kick all your butts on national TV."

"He has a point," Cole said.

"Yeah, and I really want to do it this year," Jay added.

"Nya, what do you think?" Kai asked.

"I think I'm going to beat all of you," Nya grinned.

"That is unlikely, as I will be the one remaining at the end," Zane argued.

"If you're even allowed to compete. They may not want a Nindroid competing," Jay said.

"Yeah, that could be seen as an unfair advantage," Cole added.

Kai took out his phone and called the producers back to tell them they agreed to compete on the next season of Ninjago Ninja Warrior.

Zane was allowed to compete, but the producers said they would watch his runs carefully and disqualify anything they felt was unfair. They also warned all of the ninja that if they used their powers once, they would be automatically eliminated. This was a competition to test their physical skills. They agreed, signed the contracts, and started training.

The qualifying rounds were set up in various locations around Ninjago, but the ninja decided to qualify at the Ninjago City location. The course was set up on the outskirts of the City. It was huge. The different stages were lined up next to each other, with the giant Mt. Midoriyama looming at the end.

They spent the first day with the producers, getting interviewed and doing promotional stuff. Even Lloyd was not immune to the cameras.

"Who do you think will go all the way?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…"

The producer waited for Lloyd to answer.

"Well, they all have the potential to go all the way…" Lloyd slowly said.

"But if you had to pick one of them?"

"Right… um… mnfll," Lloyd said with his hand over his mouth.

"Who was that?"

"You heard me. Honestly, they're just lucky I'm not running."

The producers then interviewed each ninja separately in hopes of getting some good trash talk footage.

"Why do you think you will win?"

"I've proven time and again I am just as good as the boys. This is no exception. I've beaten them before, and I'll do it again," Nya boasted.

"I hosted _Most Ultimate Extreme Ninja Challenge Ever_ for a while. This isn't so different from that," Jay said.

"I'm going to win because I'm the best, plain and simple," Kai said cockily.

"I am a nindroid. I do not make mistakes. I will be the one standing at the end," Zane reasoned.

"Near my grandparents' house is an obstacle gym, Makoto's Gym. Every summer, we would get to go there and play on the obstacles. I've seen some of those same obstacles or extremely similar ones on that course out there. I went there almost every day last year when I was recovering from my injuries. I'm also an avid rock climber. I once spent several months living in the mountains so I could climb. Between those skills and my ninja training, I know I can dominate this course," Cole said.

After three days with the media, it was finally time for the competition. The qualifying round took place over five nights. The producers decided to have all five ninja run on the last night. The group did head to the course on the third night to see some of the other competitors run the course.

During the days leading up to their runs, the ninja doubled down on training. Jay and Nya even built an obstacle course. The media, of course, wanted footage of them training.

Cole, after training with the team in the morning, would head off on a date with Nikki most days. He "forgot" to mention that one of their favorite date spots was Makoto's Gym and was fine with letting the others think he wasn't taking it seriously.

The night of the City Qualifiers finally came. Lloyd, Wu, Misako, Skylor, Nikki, and P.I.X.A.L. all got there early to get good seats. Jay was first up. He breezed through the course, as did Nya and Zane. Kai tried to go for the Mega Warped Wall instead of the regular Warped Wall, but he just couldn't make it up. Twice He managed to get his fingers on the edge, but after three tries, his run was over. He was first among those who didn't finish and was able to move on to the next round. Cole used his height to his advantage and easily scaled the Mega Wall on his first try, winning ten thousand bucks in the process.

The next week started the City Finals, which took place over three nights. Zane and Jay ran on the first night and they both finished, though Jay nearly fell two obstacles from the end. Cole ran on the second night, and though his time was a little slow, he scaled the Wall Climb to hit the buzzer. On the third night, with the Mega Wall out of play, Kai easily scaled the regular Warped Wall, raced through the rest of the course, and got the fastest finish out of everybody. Nya also ran on the third night, but she lost her footing when she tried to open the second set of doors on the Spider Climb and fell. As she was first among the top three women and twelfth overall, she was able to move on.

The real competition started the next week with Stage One. Christi, the sideline reporter, pulled all six in for a group interview the morning before the competition.

"You're all doing very well so far," Christi started.

"Heck yeah we are," Jay said.

"Kai, your times are super fast, and speed is a ninja killer on the course. Are you worried at all about going too fast?" Christi asked.

"I can handle it. The real question is can the course handle me," Kai said smugly.

"Cole, is it true you were in a coma last year?"

"It is."

"How has that affected your runs so far?

"It hasn't."

"Okay then. Lloyd, who do you think will win?"

"Could you ask me that after the end of Stage Three?" Lloyd pleaded.

The five ninja looked at Lloyd.

"It's… too early to make a prediction," Lloyd continued.

The Stage One runs took place over two nights. Jay, Zane, and Nya ran on the first night while Cole and Kai ran on the second. Stage One was drastically different from the City course, and the obstacles were much harder. The finishers from the five different qualifying locations hoped they would be the last one standing, and the presence of the real ninja did not discourage any of them.

Zane did well on his run, and even though Jay landed low on the cargo net, he still managed to finish with plenty of time on the clock. Nya, though, was dominating the course until she got to the Jumping Spider. She didn't jump off the trampoline well and didn't get far enough inside the obstacle. She stretched out as far as she could reach, but she just wasn't tall enough to grab the walls and fell into the water. Everyone was shocked. Only Kai dared go near her after she climbed out of the pool, but quickly left when she threatened to push him and Christi into the water. Cole and Kai, who had the luxury of watching everyone the night before, did very well on Stage One, though Cole finished with only three seconds left on the clock.

Stage two presented different challenges, and the producers and hosts were all wondering if the presence of the ninja meant they would have a Stage Three competition this year. For the past two years, no one managed to complete Stage Two. There were thirty-five competitors running in Stage Two. To add yet another twist, for the first time ever, there was an underwater obstacle this year.

Cole was up first, and he took his time figuring out the obstacles. He didn't make any mistakes, but his slow pace nearly cost him. Zane was perfect and finished with plenty of time to spare. Jay flew through the course. When he got to Wingnut Alley, he landed perfectly on the first three but was overconfident by the time he lept for the fourth one and smashed his face into the metal plate holding the Wingnut in place and fell into the water. When he climbed out of the pool, there was blood dripping down his face, and he was quickly ushered to the medical tent where he was diagnosed with a broken nose. He wanted to stay and watch the rest of the competition, but everyone else told him to go to the hospital. In the end, the on-site doctors patched his nose up enough and gave him some ice so he could stay and watch the end of the competition, but he had to go to the hospital as soon as it was over. He got out of the medical tent just in time for Kai's run on Stage Two.

Like Jay, Kai flew through Stage Two, but unlike Jay, he made it through Wingnut Alley. As he walked to the last obstacle, he went pale. The underwater obstacle. All he had to do was open three doors underwater and push the buzzer on the other side. He sat down at the edge of the pool and dangled his legs in the water. As he took some deep breaths, he could hear the crowd yelling at him to get moving. He jumped in the water and waded over to the first door. He wanted to keep his head above water, but that proved impossible as he struggled to get the first door open. With time ticking down, he took a deep breath and went under. The door was quickly opened and he swam through it. He wondered if the crowd could see him shaking as he made his way over to the second door. Again, he had to force himself to go under in order to get the door open. By the time he made it over to the third door, he knew he wasn't going to get it open in time, but he knew he couldn't give up. He made his way through the third door just as the timer ran out. As he pulled himself out of the pool, Christi ran over for an interview.

"Kai, what happened?" Christi asked.

"I don't know," Kai admitted before he walked away. He hated himself for letting his fear get in the way. He hid from the cameras and his friends while the rest of the competitors did their runs.

Only five people managed to get through Stage Two, including Zane and Cole. While they were backstage getting ready, Christi and a cameraman made their way over to the group of disqualified ninja plus Lloyd for yet another interview.

"How do you think Zane and Cole will do on Stage Three?" Christi asked.

"Stage Three looks like it was tailor-made for Cole, and I don't see Zane making any mistakes either," Lloyd said as he looked over Stage Three.

Indeed, the upper body intense Stage Three was menacing, but it would take a lot for either one to fail on it. One of the other competitors failed on just the second obstacle, while the other two failed on the third. Zane made it all the way to the Ultimate Cliffhanger, but miscalculated the jump to the other side and couldn't hold on to the two-inch ledge, much to the crowd's disbelief. No one was more shocked than Zane as he climbed out of the pool.

"Zane, what happened?" Christi asked.

"I do not know. I thought I had enough of a grip on the ledge," Zane said as he ran the calculations through his head.

"Well, it just goes to show you anything can happen here."

And just like that, there was only one person left in the whole competition. After watching Zane fall, the crowd was nervous, but Cole took one look at Stage Three and started smiling like a kid in a candy factory. He couldn't have asked for a better playground, and without the pressure of a clock, he was confident in his abilities. He breezed through the first three obstacles, and he relied on his years of rock climbing to get through Ultimate Cliffhanger. When he nailed the leap across, the crowd went wild. The others knew Cole wasn't going to fall after that point and led the crowd in cheering him on. Cole played to the crowd and showed off a little bit, but not so much that it cost him. When he finished the final obstacle and hit the buzzer, the crowd went wild. For the first time in six years, someone was going to attempt Stage Four: a seventy-five foot rope climb in thirty seconds. Christi managed to pull Cole out of his circle of friends for an interview.

"Cole, you are the first rookie ever to hit every single buzzer so far, and the first rookie to take on Mt. Midoriyama. How are you feeling?" Christi asked.

"I think that mountain's going down," Cole gloated.

"You think you can climb that rope in thirty seconds?"

"I've been climbing ropes since I was six. That rope is only seventy-five feet long. And thirty seconds is a long time," Cole said.

"You've been climbing since you were six?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes, but if I had had my way, I would've started climbing when I was three or four."

"Do tell," Christi said.

"I saw one once and asked Dad if I could do it, but he said I was too little and it was too dangerous. Then, when I started school, there was a rope climb in the gym, so I asked my teacher if I could do it. She said I was far too young. Finally, the summer I was six, I was staying with my grandparents along with some of my cousins for a couple of weeks. They live near Makoto's Gym, which has so much fun stuff to climb on, and we were allowed on pretty much everything, including the thirty-foot rope climb. My older cousins were playing on that, so I asked my grandpa if I could do it. He told me to go for it. I think he thought I would only go up five or ten feet. My older cousins never got more than halfway up the rope, and they were taunting me and saying I couldn't do it, that I was too little and my dad would kill me if he ever found out. So I started climbing. When I'm about ten feet up, Grandpa said I might want to come back down. At twenty feet up, he wants me to stop because he's worried I'll get stuck. When I got to the top, Grandpa said I wasn't allowed to tell my dad what I did."

"Okay, Lloyd, it's after Stage Three. Do you think Cole will make it to the top?" Christi asked.

"Yes," Lloyd said.

Cole was anxious to start climbing, but he had to wait for the all-clear. As soon as the safety team finished their final checks on his harness and the mountain, he got into position. His friends and some of the other competitors gathered around the base of Mt. Midoriyama to watch. He chalked his hands up real good and took hold of the rope. The clock started and Cole exploded up the rope. He used his long arms to his advantage as he pulled himself higher and higher up the rope. He kept his eyes on the buzzer at the end and watched it get closer. With four seconds left on the clock, Cole reached through the hole at the top and pressed the buzzer to stop the clock. The crowd cheered as he pulled himself through the hole and onto the platform.

"Woo!" Cole yelled as he faced the crowd.

As he walked down the stairs, he realized he didn't care about all the screaming fans. He didn't care about the fact that as a rookie he hit every single buzzer on the course. He didn't even care about the money. All he cared about was the fact that he could gloat about this moment to his teammates for a year.

The ninja surrounded him when he stepped off the last step. Nikki made her way through the crowd and into the circle so she could hug him. The hosts signed off for the season, the cameras were turned off, and everyone headed back to the monastery to celebrate. Sensei Wu gathered his students around.

"You all did well in this competition, but do not let this go to your heads. You may all rest tomorrow, but I expect you all to return to your normal training routine starting the day after," Wu said.

"Really?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh yes. All this proved is I need to go harder on all of you."

The ninja groaned as they left the course behind them.


	8. Kai Cleans His Room

**Author's Note: This takes place before What Makes A Mother, so before Jay and Nya are married and before they find out anything about Cole's mom.**

**In my head, when you're facing the monastery, the six bedrooms for the ninja are down the left hallway. On the side of the courtyard, Lloyd's room is first, Jay is in the middle, and Zane is at the end. On the outer wall side, Cole's room is first (across from Lloyd), Kai is in the middle, and Nya is at the end. (After they get married, Nya moves into Jay's room.) In the middle of the monastery is the living room, front closet, kitchen, and bathroom. Down the right hallway are Wu and Misako's bedrooms, an indoor training area/armory, a storage closet, and a laundry area.**

**I got the idea for a White Glove for the ninja from seeing a friend from college graduate. At the end of every semester, we would have a White Glove Inspection which we had to pass before we were allowed to leave our dorms. They were horrible and I do not miss them at all. Every single surface in your dorm room had to be cleaned. To all the college seniors who had to suddenly switch to online learning in the middle of the semester, be glad you missed out on your last White Glove.**

* * *

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Wu said as he approached the lunch table.

Everyone stopped to look at him.

"Thank you. Today, there will be no training. But you will not be able to play video games either."

"What?!" Jay screeched.

"You will not do anything until all of your rooms are spotless."

"Oh come on!" The ninja grumbled their complaints.

"Why?" Lloyd asked.

"I received a complaint from Misako, and I just looked for myself. Your rooms will be cleaned. Today." Wu made a point of looking at Lloyd, Jay, and Kai in particular.

"What if our room is already clean?" Zane asked.

"Make sure it is dusted, the windows and blinds are clean, the baseboards are clean, the tops of light fixtures are dusted, and so on. I will be going through your rooms with a white glove."

After lunch, they went to their rooms and got started. Kai stood in the doorway and stared at the mess. He didn't think it was that bad and he could find everything in the organized chaos. He didn't even know where to begin. He took out his phone to look up tips but ended up watching random videos online. Over an hour later, he heard voices in Cole's room next door. When they talking stopped, Kai crept into the hallway. He knocked on Cole's door.

"Who is it?" Cole called.

"It's me," Kai replied.

Cole opened the door and Kai's jaw dropped.

"You're done?" Kai asked.

"Just finished and passed Sensei's inspection."

"How thorough is he?"

"Extremely."

Kai groaned and went back to his room. Cole followed him.

"Woah. So you're the reason we're doing this," Cole said as he took in the scene. There were clothes scattered on the floor, trash was everywhere, the sheets were falling off Kai's bed, and that was just on the side of the room Cole could see.

"Yeah. Do you think he would notice if I just shoved everything under my bed and in my closet?" Kai asked.

"Yes. That's where he checked first."

"Ugh. I am so screwed. I don't even know where to start." Kai flopped down on his bed.

"You could start by making your bed," Cole said.

"Why there?"

"Growing up, I was taught to make my bed before I did anything. I couldn't even eat breakfast or get dressed unless my bed was made."

"I didn't think your dad was that strict."

"Dad was never the strict parent."

Kai sat up. This was probably the closest Cole had come to talking about his mom in years. He noticed that Cole looked extremely uncomfortable. It almost looked like Cole was trying to hug himself in an effort to keep calm. Kai couldn't tell if it was the mess or the memories upsetting his friend.

"But yeah, I would start by making the bed," Cole continued.

Kai got up and made his bed.

"Now what?" Kai asked once he had finished.

"I guess put your dirty clothes in your hamper." Cole gestured to the large pile of clothes on the floor.

"Oh, those are clean."

"On the floor, those are clean?"

"Yeah."

"So where are your dirty clothes?"

"In the hamper."

"And your clean clothes aren't in the dresser because…?"

"It's easier for me to find what I want."

"Okay, you get to work on the clothes. I'll be right back." Cole practically ran out of the room.

Kai sighed and picked up a shirt. He was struggling to fold it when Cole returned with his laptop, lap desk, and earbuds.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked.

"What does it look like?" Cole asked as he sat on the bed.

"You're not going to help?"

"You don't need help, you just need some direction. Besides, Wu said I could do whatever I want now." Cole opened up his laptop and plugged in the earbuds.

Kai groaned as Cole put one earbud in his ear and started to play a game, but Cole didn't move. It took almost forty-five minutes, but Kai got all his clothes put away.

Cole would look up from his game long enough to give Kai a new task each time he finished a job. He only left long enough to grab some large garbage bags and a snack. Kai really started to get stuff done once Cole confiscated his phone. Two hours later, Kai was making real progress when Lloyd came in.

"Looking good," Lloyd commented.

"Thanks," Kai said.

"Gah, don't distract him. He's finally making progress," Cole scolded.

"You helping him?" Lloyd asked.

"Yep. Just don't look on that side of the room. We haven't gotten to that part yet." Cole pointed to the other side of Kai's bed.

"What is this 'we' you speak of? I've been doing all the work," Kai complained.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!"

"Zane offered to help me, but I told him he could go see P.I.X.A.L. I kind of regret letting him leave. I might have to borrow Cole when you're done," Lloyd said.

"We'll see," Cole said.

"What's with the water bottles?" Lloyd walked over to the desk. There were a bunch of empty water bottles sitting on top.

"Don't touch those. We're going to count them once we're sure we have them all."

"There's already eighteen here!"

"Nineteen," Kai said as he pulled yet another empty water bottle out from under his bed.

"Kai, you have a problem."

"Sensei don't!" Jay yelled as something crashed. The three ran across the hall to Jay's room. His room was mostly clean except for the pile of stuff that had fallen out of the closet.

"Jay, you still have some work to do. Lloyd, Kai, are you two done?" Wu asked.

"Just taking a break, Uncle," Lloyd said nervously as he backed up to his room.

"I'm still working on my room," Kai admitted.

"Go on, then. Misako is about to start on dinner," Wu said.

Kai nodded and went back to his room. Cole followed and took his position on Kai's bed. Kai managed to get most of the stuff off his floor before Misako called everyone to dinner. Lloyd and Jay looked especially relieved to have a break from cleaning.

"How am I supposed to clean my room if I can't just shove everything in the closet," Jay whined.

"Every item has a place," Wu said.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Don't forget about dusting everything and cleaning the blinds, baseboards, and everything else in your rooms."

"That's going to take forever," Lloyd whined.

"It needs to be done," Misako said as she put dinner on the table.

"Cole and Zane finished cleaning their rooms to my specifications, and Nya is nearly finished with her room," Wu pointed out.

"It's easier to clean if you don't let your room turn into a pigsty in the first place. And turning off the video games also helps," Nya added.

After dinner, everyone went back to cleaning their rooms, except for Zane and Cole. Zane decided to help Misako clean up the kitchen while Cole went to get his stuff from Kai's room.

"You can stay if you want," Kai said.

"You sure?" Cole asked.

"Yeah." Kai hated to admit it, but having Cole around was extremely motivating, especially since Cole didn't let Kai goof off.

Cole shrugged and stretched out on Kai's bed with his laptop. Kai got some supplies out of the hall closet and started on the dusting. They were quiet as Kai worked.

It was nearly midnight by the time Kai finished with everything. He sighed and looked over to see Cole asleep on his bed.

"Cole?" Kai shook Cole awake.

"Huh?" Cole yawned.

"Dude, if you're going to sleep, sleep in your own bed."

"What about you?"

"I'm done. I'm going to go get Sensei, then I'm going to bed."

"Where are the water bottles?" Cole yawned as he sat up.

"Twenty-eight empty water bottles in the recycling bin."

Cole nodded, grabbed his things, and left. Kai straightened the covers on the bed real quick before he headed to Wu's room. He knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Wu asked as he opened the door.

"I'm done," Kai said.

"Let's go see." Wu grabbed a pair of white gloves and followed Kai to his room.

The first thing Wu did was check under Kai's bed and open his closet. Satisfied the clutter was actually put away, Wu proceeded to check the windows, the blinds, the shelves, the light fixtures, and everything else in Kai's room.

"Very good, Kai. I expect you to keep your room from getting as messy as it was this morning," Wu said.

"Yes, Sensei. I hope I wasn't the last one."

"Oh no. Lloyd and Jay are both still working. If they do not finish tonight, they will finish tomorrow, and the rest of you will have the day off."

Kai nodded, bid Wu a good night, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Jay and Lloyd were astonished that Kai had actually managed to get his room clean to Wu's standards. After breakfast, Jay and Lloyd tried to finish cleaning their rooms on their own, but they both decided they wanted Cole's help.

Unfortunately for them, Cole, Kai, Nya, and Zane decided to make the most of their free day and snuck off to the amusement park as soon as breakfast was over.


	9. Kai vs Water

**Kai is five and Nya is three during this story.**

**I know it's been really long and I apologize. Work is super hectic. Just when we think we've gotten the pandemic panic buying under control, corporate has to try new ideas. I honestly don't know when I'll have the energy again to write. I wish I could update more often, especially since I do have ideas, but until the world stops falling apart, I don't know when I'll update again.**

* * *

Kai didn't like this place. The social worker had said it was his and Nya's new home, but their home was back in Ignatia with their parents. They really needed to get back home. Their parents would get back from their trip soon and wonder where they were.

There were ten or twelve other kids in the house, most of them older than Kai. In fact, the only kids younger than him were Nya and some baby. Their foster parents weren't anything special. Brenda was nice enough but she was always too busy to notice anything or do anything with the kids, and Lyle was either at work or yelling at the kids to shut up. The only thing they did with the kids was take them to the river that was about half a mile from the house every few days so they could run off some energy.

The other kids weren't mean, but they had been in the system longer and had toughened up over time. The three boys Kai shared a room with were not happy that Nya kept trying to sneak in there to see Kai in the middle of the night and threatened to tell Lyle if she did it again.

Three days after Kai and Nya arrived, Lyle took the kids to the river to play while Brenda went grocery shopping. All the other kids jumped right in while Kai and Nya played on the shore. Lyle stormed up to them.

"Why aren't you in the water?" Lyle growled.

"I… I don't know how…" Kai stuttered.

"Then it's time you learned." Lyle picked up the five-year-old and hurled Kai into the river.

Kai, stunned, struggled to stay afloat. He swallowed several mouthfuls of water before one of the bigger kids swam over and pulled Kai to safety.

"What about you, little missy?" Lyle glared at Nya as she toddled into the shallows where her brother was coughing up water. She stared at Lyle as she sat down in waist-deep water.

"We're coming back here every day until you learn." Lyle then went off to lecture the kid who saved Kai for robbing him of his opportunity to learn how to swim.

* * *

Every day for the next two weeks, Kai was forced to go to the river with everyone, and every day Lyle would throw him into the water and make him swim to shore. Kai tried to get out of going but to no avail. He even tried faking a fever by leaving the thermometer on the lightbulb in his room.

"I'm siiiick," Kai whined when Brenda came to check on him. He handed her the thermometer.

"Kai, I highly doubt you have a fever of a hundred and twenty-five," Brenda said.

"No, I'm sick and need to stay here today." Kai threw in some fake coughs for good measure.

"Nice try, kid, but I have errands to run. Hurry up and get ready. Lyle is taking everyone to the river in a few minutes."

Kai groaned but did as he was told. He walked behind the group with Nya, but not out of sight of Lyle. He didn't even try to resist when Lyle picked him up and threw him into the river.

Two long hours later and Lyle finally told everyone they were heading back for lunch. After lunch, Kai went upstairs, packed his bag, packed Nya's bag, took his sister's hand, and walked out the back door.

"Where are we going?" Nya asked as they walked down the street.

"Home," Kai replied.

As soon as they left the neighborhood, Kai had no idea where to go. He knew turning left would take him to the river, so they turned right. He soon found that nothing looked familiar at all. By pure luck, they stumbled upon a shopping center. Kai led Nya down the main road, looking for a bus stop. A passing cop spotted the kids and ran after them.

"Are you two lost?" The cop knelt down to look them in the eye.

"We're going home," Nya said.

"And where is home?"

"32 Basmati Lane, Ignacia 58624," Kai rattled off. He was glad his mom had made him memorize their home address.

"Ignacia? You're a long way from home. Your parents must be worried. How about I take you two somewhere safe, and we can see about getting you back home, alright?"

"Okay."

Kai and Nya followed the officer back to his car. He got them settled in the backseat and took them to the police station. Once there, he gave some chips to much on while he worked. Kai answered all of the questions as best he could. An hour or so later, Mei, their social worker, showed up.

"What are you two doing here?" Mei asked.

"We're going home," Kai said.

"Kai, we talked about this."

"We need to go home! They're probably back by now," Kai whined.

"I miss Mommy and Daddy," Nya added.

"I know, but they're still missing. If they ever turn up again, we will see about reuniting you. But for now, you and Nya are far too young to be on your own. You have to stay with Lyle and Brenda."

"No! Don't make us go back there!" Kai pleaded.

"Lyle throws Kai in the river," Nya said.

"He what?" Mei asked.

"Lyle throws me in the river every day," Kai explained.

"Do you know why?"

Kai shrugged. He rubbed the scrape on his arm from where he had landed on a rock yesterday.

"He's mean, so we left," Nya said.

"What time did you leave?" Mei asked.

"After lunch," Kai admitted.

Mei looked at her watch. It was now almost six at night.

"Okay, you two, stay here. I have to go make some phone calls. I'll be right back." Mei went into the hallway. She was on her phone for almost half an hour before she came back.

"Are we going home now?" Kai asked.

"No. You and Nya are going to a new foster home," Mei said.

"No!"

"Yes. You and Nya are going to a new home and you'll stay there. And I am going to have a nice, long chat with Brenda, Lyle, and my boss. End of discussion."

The siblings pouted as Mei loaded them into her car and brought them to a new home. They were only in there for less than a week because Nya started reacting to their foster mom's perfume and the woman didn't want to give it up. They lasted a year at the home after that, but ran away when they overheard someone talking about separating the siblings by adopting Nya. The next home could have been a good home, except it turned out Kai was allergic to the family cat. The family took a vote and the cat got to stay. This was the pattern for the next several foster homes. Either Kai and Nya would run away or they couldn't stay for some reason.

They didn't know it, but Lyle and Brenda's foster license was revoked and all their foster kids were rehomed. Kai and Nya slowly forgot about the horror of their first home as the memory blended with the memories of all their other homes. Even though he retained a healthy fear of water, Kai soon forgot why he was scared in the first place.

Kai grew tired of the foster system and looked for a way out. He knew he could get out as early as ten if he could get an apprenticeship somewhere. The problem was no one wanted to hire a foster kid and look after his sister too. When he was thirteen, Kai managed to convince Mei that he had a job. He even forged documents stating he and Nya would both be looked after. Mei reluctantly agreed and let them go.

"So where are we going now?" Nya asked as they boarded the bus.

"Home," Kai said as he took his seat.

"Home?"

"Yeah."

"But you told Mei you had a job."

"Mom and Dad owned a blacksmith shop. It can't be that hard."

Nya rolled her eyes and settled down for the journey home.


	10. Broken AC

"Hey, Kai?" Cole asked as he flopped onto the couch.

"Yeah?" Kai asked.

"This is probably a stupid thing to ask you, but does it feel hot in here to you?"

"It's a little warm."

"What does the thermostat say?"

"Ninety-four?!" Kai yelled in shock.

Cole bolted up and ran over to the thermostat. Kai already had the settings pulled up.

"It's set to seventy-two. Why is it so hot?" Kai asked.

"I don't know. Are Jay and Nya back yet?"

"I think everyone else is still on their missions."

Cole groaned. The team had split up to deal with rising threats throughout Ninjago. Cole and Kai were supposed to maintain peace in and around Ninjago City on the _Bounty_. Easy enough.

"It's probably just a blown fuse. Where's the fuse box?" Kai asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Cole asked as he pulled out his phone.

"What's up?" Jay asked as Cole put him on speaker.

"The A/C isn't working on the _Bounty_. Where's the fuse box?" Kai asked.

"Don't touch anything! Nya and I should be able to get there tomorrow to fix it," Jay said.

"Jay, even we can fix a blown fuse. All you do is flip a switch," Cole said.

"That's a breaker. Don't touch anything!"

"Jay, Kai might be able to survive in hundred-degree weather, but I can't."

"Hey, I actually do feel the effects of hot weather sometimes," Kai protested.

"Then go stay with your dad. You're in Ninjago City," Jay said.

"Ha." Cole crossed his arms.

Kai nudged Cole. He had texted Zane, who told him where the breaker box was but advised him to wait until tomorrow when he and Lloyd could get there.

"Nice," Cole said, forgetting he was on speaker.

"What's nice? What are you doing? I swear I will kill you both if you break anything," Jay threatened.

"Talk to you later, Jay."

"Cole!"

Cole hung up the phone, cutting Jay off. As they made their way to the breaker box, Kai's phone began to ring.

"If it's Jay, ignore it," Cole told Kai.

Kai nodded as they headed down the hall. While they were examining the breaker box, Kai's phone rang again.

"It's Nya," Kai said.

"Put her on speaker," Cole said.

"What's up, sis?"

"I don't know what you two are doing, but stop it," Nya demanded.

"Don't touch anything!" Jay screamed over the phone.

"Well, I don't think it's a breaker," Cole said.

"What did I just say?!"

"Relax, Jay. I don't even know what to do next," Kai admitted.

"We could call a professional," Cole suggested.

"Don't!" Jay protested.

"Just get a hotel room or something. We'll be there sometime tomorrow to fix the A/C," Nya said.

Kai hung up and the two headed up to the bridge.

"I hate that they think we're that incompetent," Cole grumbled.

"We are that incompetent. At least with electrical stuff," Kai pointed out.

"But you know who isn't?"

"Jay? Nya? Zane? All people who aren't here right now."

"Borg."

"Borg? Again, someone who isn't here."

"Yeah, but we could land on the top of Borg Tower in less than two minutes."

"Good point." Kai quickly dialed the number.

"Hello, Kai. What can I do for you?" Cyrus asked.

"The A/C on the Bounty is shot. Any chance you could fix it for us?" Kai asked.

"Where are Jay or Zane or P.I.X.A.L.?"

"All on missions elsewhere in Ninjago."

"I see. Well, I could squeeze you in tomorrow morning."

"Not today?"

"No, sorry. I'm actually home for the evening already."

"Okay. Well, we'll let you know if we still need you tomorrow." Kai hung up the phone and sighed.

"This is insane," Cole said.

"Do you think your dad would let us crash at his place? "

"I'm not giving up yet." Cole pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contacts.

"Who are you calling now? We've tried everyone we know already."

"Not everyone. That's what family is for."

"I seriously doubt anyone in your family could help us."

"You'd be surprised. Eric, it's Cole. How are you at fixing air conditioning systems?... The _Bounty_. We're just outside Ninjago City… Forty-five minutes? Sounds good. See you then." Cole hung up the phone.

"Who's Eric?" Kai asked.

"My uncle."

"I've met your uncle's. Neither of them are named Eric."

"Well, what else would you call my aunt's husband?"

"Wait, is that the guy you went to the FSM concert with when you and Nikki officially became a thing? The guy Jay was going on and on about? Borg's top rival?"

"Yep, Eric Nagel. Just don't tell Jay he's coming here."

Kai shrugged and went to go find somewhere cool. By the time Eric arrived looking for a way onto the flying ship, Kai had dragged every fan he could find into the living room, and Cole was standing in front of the open freezer.

"I think it's cooler outside than inside," Cole said as he helped Eric aboard.

"Possibly. Just show me where I'm going and I'll see what I can do," Eric said.

Cole led Eric down the hall to the A/C unit, and Kai followed them. Eric was in the middle of pulling the front panel off when Jay called Cole again.

"Please tell me you two are off the _Bounty_ by now," Jay pleaded.

"Oh, no, we found someone to try and fix it," Cole said.

"Who?"

"My uncle."

"The actor or the singer?"

"Technically, they both sing, and I'm not telling you."

"Cole whatever-your-middle-name-is Burtchenelli, I told you not to touch anything!"

"My middle name is Lucien, and I'm not touching anything. Kai is holding a flashlight, though."

"Star screws? Who in their right mind uses star screws," Eric grumbled.

"Don't touch my star screws!" Jay yelled over the phone.

"Bye, Jay," Cole said as he hung up the phone.

"He's going to kill you, you know," Kai said.

"You're going down with me. Thanks again for doing this, Eric."

"Oh, anything to not have to go home. Besides, it's been a long time since I've gotten to do anything like this. I can't remember the last time I actually held a screwdriver," Eric said.

"Don't you own a tech company?" Kai asked.

"Yes, but I'm stuck in an office all day, going from meeting to meeting, approving ideas, and failing to convince Giovanni to let me buy back some of the shares. I guess it's better than being stuck at home, though. Never start a company around something you love because you'll never get to actually do what you love. Ah, I think I found your problem. You need a new capacitor."

"Can you fix it?" Kai asked.

"Of course. I just have to get some parts. I'm surprised this ship isn't fully automated. You've got most of the parts in place already, a few upgrades is all it will take."

"You'd have to talk to Jay and Nya about that. We aren't allowed to touch the electronics," Kai said.

"We're the brawn, they're the brains," Cole added.

"I see," Eric said.

While Eric ran to the hardware store, Kai and Cole heated up some microwave dinners.

"Does Eric not have a good relationship with your family?" Kai asked as they ate.

"Eric and Misty's relationship is the very definition of why you should never marry for money. They weren't really in love when they got married, and now it's too late. Grandpa owns most of the company, so if they divorce, Grandpa pulls his support, and Mystitech goes under. I don't think anyone really goes out of their way to include him in family stuff, but no one wants to include Aunt Misty either."

"Why not?"

"She's messed up. She was a model years ago and got into some bad stuff. She's also irresponsible and just totally self-absorbed. She has no idea what my name is. She's called me Cody, Caleb, Casey, Carey, Kyle, Keith, and Chris."

"Have you told her what your name is?"

"There have been many, many arguments on the subject. Even my dad couldn't convince her. We've just given up at this point. It's not worth it."

"That's rough."

"Yeah. Don't be surprised if Eric doesn't leave tonight. I think he sleeps in his office more than he sleeps at home."

"See, I always wondered what it would be like to have aunts, uncles, and cousins, but hearing about your family makes me glad I don't have any."

"They aren't normal, Kai. That's why I don't talk about them very often. They only started respecting me after I became a ninja."

"Why?"

"The short answer is because of Morgen. The long answer is because my parents divorced and there was a huge scandal, and they needed to take their frustrations out on someone, but they couldn't ostracize Dad, and I'm half-Morgen so they didn't know how I was going to turn out and then Dad got remarried which was an even bigger scandal and it's just this whole big mess. I like blaming Morgen better, though."

Eric returned just then, and the guys helped him install the new capacitor. A few minutes later, cold air started blowing through the A/C system.

"Thank you, Eric," Cole said.

"Yeah, thanks," Kai added.

"Of course. I think to be safe, I should stick around and make sure it doesn't fail overnight," Eric said.

"That's fine. The couch is free." Cole showed Eric to the living room.

* * *

"Hello?" Zane called. He looked at Lloyd, who shrugged. Jay and Nya came in.

"You fixed the A/C?" Lloyd asked.

"No. It was already fixed when we got here," Nya said.

"Where are Kai and Cole? I'm going to kill them," Jay said.

"They aren't here?" Lloyd asked.

"No!"

"Apparently, they got Cole's uncle to fix the A/C," Nya explained.

"Wil or Ben?" Lloyd asked.

"We aren't sure."

"I'll text them."

"They messed with the A/C," Jay mumbled.

"Jay, take a deep breath," Nya said.

"I told them not to do it."

"Jay…"

"Electronics and repairs are my thing! Mine! Not theirs!"

"They're at breakfast. With Eric Nagel." Lloyd showed them the picture Cole had sent.

"Eric Nagel?!" Jay grabbed Lloyd's phone and stared jaw agape.

"How do they know Eric Nagel?" Nya asked.

"Eric Nagel is married to Mystic Burtchenelli, who is Lou's older sister," Zane said.

"That would make him Cole's uncle," Lloyd said.

"Jay? Are you okay?" Nya asked.

"I am so going to kill Cole."


	11. Appendicitis

"Lloyd? You okay?"

Lloyd gripped his stomach as he came out of the bathroom. He looked up and saw Kai in front of him.

"Yeah, I just have an upset stomach," Lloyd said.

"You eat some of Cole's cooking?"

"No, Jay cooked last night." Lloyd couldn't even remember the last time any of them had eaten Cole's cooking, ever since they banned him from the kitchen. Of course, Jay was an okay cook, and no one else seemed to be suffering any ill effects, so he didn't think it was anything he ate that was causing him so much pain now.

"Oh."

Lloyd shuffled to his room to lay down. He was nearly asleep when someone knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Zane entered carrying a bowl on a tray.

"Kai mentioned you were not feeling well, and I noticed you missed breakfast and lunch today, so I made you some chicken soup," Zane said.

"That's really not necessary."

"It is. You must keep your strength up. If we were called out on a mission, you would be in no shape to participate."

Lloyd forced himself to sit up when he realized Zane wasn't going to leave him alone. He managed to eat about half of the soup before he pushed it away.

"You should eat more," Zane said.

"I'm not that hungry."

"Your core temperature is slightly elevated. Should I give you a fever reducer?"

"What? No, I'm fine. I just need some rest. And don't scan me again."

"But I need to assess your vitals."

"It's a major invasion of my privacy."

"I'm sorry, I did not realize I was invading your privacy."

"It's okay, Zane. I really just need to rest."

"I understand." Zane got up, grabbed the tray, and left the room.

Lloyd felt a little bad, but not bad enough to chase after the nindroid. He pulled the covers over his head and tried to go to sleep, but the pain in his stomach kept him up. A while later, he guessed dinner was over based on what he heard through the walls of his room. He heard Jay and Nya giggling as they went into their room next to his. He heard Kai slam his door shut a moment later.

Maybe an hour later, Lloyd decided to try and use the bathroom again to see if that would help at all. As he stood up, the pain became almost unbearable. He gripped his stomach as he opened the door. The bathroom seemed so far away. He leaned against the doorframe for support.

"Lloyd?"

Lloyd looked up and saw Cole.

"You look terrible. Are you okay?" Cole asked.

Lloyd shook his head.

"Do we need to take you to the hospital?" Cole took a step closer.

"No, no hospital. I'm not that bad. I just need some pain pills." Lloyd took a step and collapsed. Cole just barely managed to catch him in time before he hit his head on the floor. Lloyd's scream brought everyone running out of their rooms.

"What happened?" Kai asked.

"If I had to guess, it's appendicitis, and we need to get him to a hospital before it bursts, if it hasn't already burst," Cole said.

"No! I don't need to go to the hospital," Lloyd protested.

"You lost the right to an opinion when you fell down," Kai said.

"Appendicitis can be deadly if left untreated," Zane pointed out.

"I'll get Misako." Nya ran down the hall towards Misako's room.

"What makes you think it's appendicitis?" Jay asked.

"I had appendicitis when I was younger, and it looked a lot like this," Cole said as he and Kai helped Lloyd to his feet.

"Lloyd!" Misako ran down the hall.

"Mom," Lloyd said weakly.

"What happened?"

"I don't know…"

"How many times do I have to say it? Appendicitis," Cole said.

Lloyd said nothing as his friends dragged him out of the monastery. Nya already had the _Bounty_ hovering at the top of the mountain. As soon as they got him situated on the couch, Nya took off for the hospital as fast as the ship would go.

"I don't want to go," Lloyd said.

"You have to go," Misako said. She stroked Lloyd's hair.

"I'm scared."

"It's okay to be scared."

"We're here for you," Kai added.

"There's nothing to be scared of. Appendectomies are one of the most common procedures ever. The odds of something going wrong are like a billion to one," Cole said.

"Didn't you nearly die because of an appendectomy?" Jay asked.

"No, well, sort of. It wasn't the surgery, it was the medicine they gave me after. The surgery itself was uneventful."

Lloyd wailed in fear.

"It's okay, Lloyd. That's not going to happen to you," Misako said as she hugged her son.

They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. It was a slow night in the ER, so Lloyd didn't have long to wait before they took him back. Misako went back with him while the others waited outside. The doctor came in, did some tests, and confirmed Lloyd needed his appendix out. A nurse came in and gave Lloyd some pills.

"Take these. They will help you relax." The nurse set up an IV line.

Lloyd did as he was told. By the time Misako had to leave, he wasn't as anxious. They wheeled him into the OR.

"Alright, Lloyd, you ready for this?"

"I guess," Lloyd said.

"Good. What are your thoughts on heavy metal?"

"It's not my favorite…"

The doctor hit a button on his phone and a heavy metal song started blaring. Lloyd watched as the anesthesiologist injected something into his IV. The next thing Lloyd knew, he was in another room with elevator music playing quietly in the background. As he looked around, he realized he wasn't in any pain.

"Hello, Lloyd."

Lloyd turned and saw a nurse walking towards him. Lloyd tried to speak, but couldn't.

"Oh, you have a breathing tube in, so don't try to speak. It'll come out in a few hours." The nurse took his vitals before she and another nurse wheeled Lloyd to another room. After they got him comfortable and left, Misako came in.

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Misako stroked his hair.

Lloyd looked at her, then glanced over at the door.

"I made the others wait on the _Bounty_. They'll come to see you once you're feeling a bit better."

Lloyd nodded and tried to relax. The doctor came in to examine him.

"Hello, Lloyd. You were very lucky. Your appendix was prime and ready to burst. The good news is you won't have to make any lifestyle changes. The appendix is really only there to be on standby for if you get a bacterial infection or diarrhea or something else."

"How long will he be in the hospital?" Misako asked.

"Well, if all goes well, he should be able to be released tomorrow, and he should be able to fully resume normal activities within three to four weeks. I realize you are a ninja and you may not want to, but I am telling you, Lloyd, you will have to take it easy until you're fully healed."

"I'll make sure the others know."

Lloyd sighed. He knew the others, especially Kai and Zane, weren't going to let him get away with anything.

By the time the others could visit, Lloyd was very bored. He still had the breathing tube in, so he couldn't ask for anything. This hospital wasn't as strict about their visitor policy, so everyone was allowed to come in at once. Lloyd did not like how everyone seemed to be on edge. Only Cole seemed to actually try and communicate with Lloyd, by asking yes or no questions, and Cole was the one who left the TV remote within reach.

The next day, they released Lloyd, but he was under strict orders to rest. The ninja immediately set Lloyd up in the living room of the monastery. They were still careful around him, which Lloyd hated, but not as much as he hated the hovering.

"Guys, just give him some space," Cole said after a while

"Do you want soup? I can make you some soup," Zane offered.

"No, I'm fine," Lloyd said.

"I think you all should train while Lloyd rests," Wu said as he came in.

"But Lloyd just got back from the hospital," Kai protested.

"And he will still be here when you're done training."

The ninja groaned as they headed outside. Cole handed Lloyd the TV remote on his way out.

"Thank you," Lloyd said once the others were outside.

"Yell if you need anything." Wu left to supervise the other ninja.

As Lloyd flipped through the channels, he thought about the past few days. As much as he loved and appreciated the others, he needed to get them to back off. He didn't know how Cole dealt with months of this last year. A few hours later, everyone came back in for lunch. Kai made a beeline for Lloyd.

"Hey, Cole?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you? Alone?"

Kai looked hurt as Cole came into the living room and sat down on the couch. Lloyd glared at Kai until he retreated into the kitchen with everyone else.

"You know they're going to eavesdrop, right?" Cole asked once they were alone.

"I know. I want you to be brutally honest. When you were recovering from Morgen's attack, did we hover over you?"

"A bit, though you guys weren't as bad as my dad, who was absolutely suffocating. He's the reason I ended up staying with my grandparents. I feel like you guys might have hovered more if you had been allowed to hover."

"Ah." Lloyd had forgotten how controlling and paranoid Lou had been.

"For me, the worst part was no one would talk to me," Cole continued.

"We talked to you."

"No, you talked at me, always avoiding the elephant in the room. Even after I got my voice back, I felt like no one really listened to me, and no one ever left the TV remote within my reach. I always had to beg for it. It was frustrating, being stuck in the hospital for months on end, then stuck at home with my dad."

"Oh. I'm sorry for how we treated you."

"It's okay. You didn't know, and I couldn't exactly tell you."

"So how would you get them to back off? I don't think I can take three weeks of this."

"Just tell them to back off. Yell if you have to. I had it out with my dad more than once. And these guys aren't nearly as hard-headed, except for maybe Kai."

Lloyd nodded and tried to stand up. He had to use Cole's arm for support, but he got up and slowly made his way into the kitchen.

"We don't hover," Jay said as soon as he saw Lloyd.

"Yeah, you do. I don't need everybody watching my every move," Lloyd argued.

"What if you need something?" Kai asked.

"Then I will ask for help, just please stop the hovering."


	12. One Stormy Night

**How long has it been? I don't even know anymore! The good news is I have a new job lined up with a more consistent schedule and no 10-12 hour shifts, so I will theoretically have more time to write. (I've only had time to write while on my lunch break, and given how long this turned out, you can see why it's been a while.) We'll see what happens in a few weeks once I've fully transitioned to the new company.**

**Anyway, in this story, Cole is 4, Kai is 4, Nya is 2, Jay is 3, and Lloyd is 2-months. Enjoy.**

* * *

Lou rolled over to look at the clock as a massive thunderclap boomed overhead. It was three in the morning. Two seconds later, another massive thunderclap boomed and Lou decided to check on Cole. He wasn't even halfway down the hallway when Cole ran into him, nearly tripping him.

"Cole?" Lou asked.

Cole ran past Lou, jumping into Lou's bed. Lou found Cole huddled under the covers in his spot.

"Cole, you're okay," Lou said as he moved Cole into the middle of the bed so he could sit down.

"It's scary," Cole said.

"I know, but we're safe inside."

Cole peeked out from under the covers just as a thunderclap sounded so loud that even Lou jumped. Cole whimpered and hid under the covers again. Lou pulled Cole out and held the boy close.

"Want to sing to distract ourselves from the storm?" Lou asked.

"NOOO!" Cole yelled.

"Okay, okay."

Cole clung to his dad and whimpered as some of the loudest thunder Lou had ever heard boomed almost nonstop outside. Lou closed his eyes and attempted to get some rest, but between the storm and Cole's squirming, he knew he wasn't going to get much sleep that night.

About an hour later, the storm finally showed signs of letting up. Lou thought he might actually get some sleep that night when sirens started blaring outside his window.

"What now?" Lou growled as he opened his eyes.

"Daddy, what's that?" Cole asked as he sat up.

"I don't know, Cole. Go back to sleep."

"Code Orange, Code Orange. The national weather service has issued a flash flood warning for Washington County, Madison County, Monroe County, Adams County, and Jefferson County until eight a.m., and a severe thunderstorm warning until ten a.m. Everyone is advised to stay in their homes unless absolutely necessary. Essential personnel are in a Code Orange alert. Code Orange."

Lou groaned as the sirens and emergency alert blared four more times.

"What's Code Orange?" Cole asked.

"You'll have to ask Anna," Lou said as he rolled over.

"When is Anna coming back? She said she would come back."

"Two more months."

"Oh. Will she leave again?"

"I'm not sure. There's always a chance she could be deployed."

Just as Cole settled down, another storm approached, complete with thunder so loud it shook the house. Lou hugged Cole and listened to the storm raging outside. About forty minutes later, the storm began to let up.

"It's okay. The storm is going away now," Lou yawned.

"How do you know?" Cole asked.

"Easy. After the lightning flashes, count the seconds until you hear the thunder."

Cole looked skeptical. Lou didn't have to wait long until he saw lightning outside of his window.

"One, two, three, four-" Lou stopped counting once he heard thunder.

"Four?"

"Yes."

When Lou saw more lightning, he began counting again.

"One, two, three, four, five-" Thunder interrupted Lou.

"Five," Cole repeated.

"Yes, and five is bigger than four, so the storm is going away."

Lou kept counting for Cole. The length between the lightning and the thunder continued to get bigger before it abruptly shortened again.

"Daddy, why is it the lightning getting closer?" Cole asked.

"I'm not sure."

Lou's best guess was several smaller storm cells all merged together. Four or five times total that night, the storm would appear to be moving away just for the next wave to relentlessly bear down. The storm let up for real about twenty minutes before Lou's alarm went off.

"You have got to be kidding me," Lou muttered as he reached for the alarm clock. He thought for a moment, reset the alarm for nine, and grabbed the phone.

"Who are you calling?" Cole yawned.

"Matt. Go back to sleep. We can go to Donny's for breakfast in a few hours."

"I want pancakes and sausage!" Cole said as he sprang up.

"Not right now. Go to sleep, or we won't go out at all."

Cole nodded and laid back down as Lou called out for work.

* * *

Zane ran around, trying every door he could find. They were all locked. He had to find shelter and fast. As the thunder approached, his efforts became more frantic.

"Please? Is anyone there? I require shelter," Zane called. He couldn't be sure if everyone was ignoring him or if they simply could not hear his pleas over the storm. He knocked on a few more doors to no avail.

As the rain poured down sideways, Zane struggled to stay standing. He leaned against the buildings for support as he slowly made his way down the street. He wondered how long it would take for anyone to notice him if he didn't make it through the night. At one point, the storm looked like it was starting to let up, only for more sideways rain to pour down a few minutes later. Eventually, Zane saw lights on in a twenty-four-hour diner and headed over.

Once inside, Zane took in the warmth and smell of grease.

"Are you just gonna stand there and get my floors all wet?" The waitress glared at him. Her name tag said Yvonne.

"I am sorry. I was seeking shelter from the storm."

"Why would you let yourself get caught in that storm in the first place?"

"Um…"

"Are you gonna buy something or not?"

"This is all I have." Zane placed the soaking wet bills on the counter. Yvonne counted the money.

"Take a seat anywhere." She took the money and disappeared into the back. About twenty minutes later, she came out with a plate of eggs and a biscuit. She placed his change on the table.

"Thank you," Zane said.

"Yeah, yeah. You can stay until the storm passes. I ain't about to kick you out. Not like my usuals are gonna come in." Yvonne left him alone to eat.

Zane was perplexed at her behavior, and every time he tried to make conversation, she would shut him down. All night, he watched as she cleaned the place and chatted with the cook. No one else came in, though given the current weather Zane was not surprised by this. Around five, the morning crew came in, drenched.

"He already paid for his food, he's just waiting out the storm," Yvonne told her coworkers as she put her coat on over her yellow uniform.

An hour or so later, the storm finally started to let up. Zane left the rest of his money on the table and ventured out.

* * *

Ray jerked awake and groaned as he felt something heavy land on his back. He was vaguely aware of thunder in the background.

"Ow," Ray said as someone kicked him in the ribs.

"Kai?" Maya asked.

Kai crawled under the blankets, kicking and poking Ray the entire time. Nya started screaming in her room.

"Ray, wake up," Maya said as she went to check on her daughter.

"Believe me, I'm not sleeping." Ray rolled over onto his back, careful not to squish Kai, who promptly climbed on top of Ray.

"Kai," Ray said.

"The storm is scary," Kai said.

"Storm? What storm?"

One of the loudest thunderclaps Ray had ever heard boomed overhead.

"Oh. That storm. It's nothing, Kai."

Kai buried himself under the blankets. Maya came back, carrying a crying Nya.

"Her too?" Ray asked.

"Yes." Maya climbed back into the bed.

Ray sighed and turned on the bedside lamp. Kai peered out when he heard his sister.

"Make it stop," Nya cried.

"Baby, we can't stop the storm," Maya said as she rubbed Nya's back.

"Make it stop!"

"It's scary," Kai said.

"I know, but what if I told you it wasn't really a storm out there?" Ray said.

"What is it?"

"A dragon having a temper tantrum."

Kai and Nya looked at him. Maya rolled her eyes.

"A dragon?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Ray said.

"Where did it come from?"

"Uh, the… Dragon Realm. Yeah. It's mad about something back home, so it came here to cool off."

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, sending the kids under the covers.

"So how do you explain the lightning?" Maya asked.

"It's a storm dragon. Storm dragons breathe storms," Ray said.

"Dragons breathe fire," Kai pointed out.

"That's only one type of dragon. Dragons breathe all sorts of things. Fire, water, wind, the dragon outside breathes storms. It'll go home soon, you'll see."

"Can we see the dragon?"

"Dagon?" Nya asked.

"No," Maya said.

"Why not?" Kai whined.

"Because I said so."

Kai and Nya looked at Ray.

"Dragons are invisible," Ray said.

"How do you know?" Kai asked.

"Um, I once studied under a, uh, dragon expert."

"You see dagon?" Nya asked.

"No, they're invisible."

"Then how did he know about dragons?" Kai asked.

"Magic."

The kids seemed satisfied and snuggled with their parents. Soon they were asleep.

"Well I'm not a huge fan of your methodology, but I can't argue with your results," Maya whispered.

"My methodology?" Ray put a hand on his chest like he was offended.

"It wasn't all a lie?"

"Wu once told me dragons are from another realm… the rest was made up."

Maya rolled her eyes.

"What would you have told them?" Ray asked.

"I don't know."

Ray kissed her cheek and went to sleep. He woke up a few hours later when a small person started crawling on his back. He groaned when they fell onto his head.

"Who is that?" Ray mumbled.

Nya giggled and hugged Ray's neck. Kai climbed onto Ray's back.

"Maya?"

"Yes?" Maya asked.

"Help, please?"

"Do you want me to help, or do you want me to make breakfast?"

"Breakfast!" Kai and Nya yelled into Ray's ear.

"Sorry, Ray, you're outvoted." Maya left the room.

"Who said this house was a democracy?" Ray growled.

"What's a demo-casy?" Kai asked.

"It's when we vote, then your mother makes the final decision."

"Oh."

"RAY! GET DOWN HERE!" Maya yelled.

Ray rolled over, making the kids fall off him. He jumped out of bed and ran down the hall.

"RAY!" Maya yelled.

"What? What happen- OH MY GOSH!" Ray stood on the stairs next to Maya and took in the scene.

The entire ground floor was flooded with at least a foot of water.

"How did this happen?" Maya asked quietly.

"Nya?"

"I don't think so. I couldn't control my powers that well until I was at least six, and I knew about my powers. You didn't tell her, did you?"

"No, we agreed to wait until they're ten."

"Mama?"

Ray and Maya spun and saw Kai behind them with Nya slowly making her way down the stairs.

"Kai. Um…"

"Where's breakfast?"

"Right. You and Nya stay here, I'll be right back." Maya jumped into the water, waded into the kitchen, and grabbed two bananas and two granola bars.

"I thirsty," Nya whined when Maya returned.

"Nya, say please," Ray said.

"Water peese."

"You're going to have to wait, baby. Kai, under no circumstances do you or your sister get into the water, understand?" Maya asked.

Kai nodded and took a bite of his granola bar.

"How are we supposed to get all of this out?" Ray asked as he joined Maya in the knee-deep water.

"I'm thinking."

While Maya thought, Ray saw the door to his forge and waded towards it. It some effort and he slipped into the water once, but he managed to get the door open. The forge was also flooded. He carefully stepped down into the forge. The water level was now at his thighs.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked.

"If I can get that door open, hopefully, the water will flow out." Ray tugged on the main door to the forge, but it didn't want to budge. Maya swam over to help. Together, they slowly managed to pull the door open. The water swelled around them as it rushed out and flowed down the hill.

"Nya! No!" Kai yelled over Nya's screaming.

"I'll go," Ray offered.

"You're a saint," Maya said.

"Kai, Nya, whatever you're doing, stop it!" Ray ran inside and saw Kai pulling on Nya's arm. The girl was screaming as she tried to escape.

"Kai, stop!" Ray yelled.

Kai gasped and let go of his sister. Ray ran to the stairs and caught Nya before she fell.

"I thirsty," Nya whined before Ray could say anything.

"Mama said not to let her in the water," Kai said.

"I know, but you can't hurt your sister," Ray said as he dug soaking wet juice boxes out of the pantry. As soon as he picked them up, the boxes disintegrated and the juice spilled out.

"I thirsty," Nya repeated.

"I know, I know."

Maya came in and looked around. There was still some water pooled on the floor in places, and she could see mold starting to grow on the walls.

"Kai, Nya, go get dressed, please. Mrs. Achyo said she would watch you while we clean," Maya explained.

"I don't wanna go with Mrs. Achyo. She smells weird," Kai whined.

"You're going with Mrs. Achyo. You'll have a lot more fun there than here."

Kai looked skeptical.

"I'll tell you another story about the dragon expert when you get back tonight. But you have to go get ready now," Ray said.

Kai and Nya ran upstairs to get ready.

"What are you going to tell them?" Maya asked once the kids were out of earshot.

"I'll make something up."

* * *

It wasn't the storm that made Edna jump out of bed, but rather the sound of a chair scraping across the floor. She walked into the kitchen and saw Jay pushing a chair to the window.

"Jay, sweetie, you should be in bed," Edna said gently.

"But I wanna see the storm," Jay whined.

"You don't need to see the storm."

"But I wanna."

"Why?"

"'Cause… it's fun! I like the lightning."

"Jay, you're going back to bed," Edna sighed. She loved her son, but there were times when she thought he was the weirdest kid ever.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Ed! Are you awake?"

"Jay, listen to your mother," Ed called.

Thunder rocked the trailer and Jay ran to the window.

"Jay!" Edna scolded.

"I wanna go outside," Jay said.

"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous! Ed, tell him it's too dangerous to go out in the storm!"

"He wants to do what?" Ed bolted up.

"I wanna go outside," Jay said as he ran over to his dad.

"No. You're not going outside right now. You're going to bed. We're gonna have one heck of a mess to clean up tomorrow. Now."

Jay groaned and climbed up the ladder to his bunk bed above his parents' bed.

"Thank you." Edna climbed back into the bed and kissed her husband. She knew Jay wasn't going to fall back asleep, but as long as he didn't come back down, she didn't care if he was awake all night. After all, he would learn his lesson about staying up all night the next day when they had to clean up the junkyard.

* * *

Misako ran to Lloyd. The two-month-old baby was crying but calmed down as soon as she picked him up.

"It's okay, sweetie. The storm will be over soon." Misako rocked Lloyd until he went back to sleep. She was about to put him in his crib when another loud thunderclap boomed overhead and woke him up again.

As Misako paced around the room, she glanced out the window and gasped in horror. Wu and Garmadon had the Golden Weapons and were fighting in the courtyard. She clutched Lloyd as she watched the two brothers attack each other. Just when it looked like Garmadon had the upper hand, Wu did something, though she couldn't see exactly what. Lightning struck Garmadon and a huge fissure opened up. Misako couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Wu rush over and push her husband inside! She put Lloyd in his crib and ran outside as it started to rain.

"What have you done?!" Misako demanded.

"Misako, wait," Wu said.

"Where is my husband? What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything! He fell, I tried to catch him."

"I saw you! You pushed him!"

"No, I didn't. I promise I didn't push him. He fell. The Devourer's venom finally fully consumed him. He tried to take the Golden Weapons. I had to stop him. I didn't mean for this to happen. Misako, please believe me."

"I don't know," Misako sobbed. Wu placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off. She ran back inside to Lloyd's room. The infant was still crying. She picked him up and sat in the rocker. She stayed there all night, listening to the storm rage on.

Early the next morning, before Wu woke up, Misako packed her things and Lloyd's things into an old suitcase, and the two headed down the mountain.


	13. Dinner With Libby

**This is another scene I wanted to put in What Makes A Mother but took out because I felt like it slowed down the pacing too much. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Jay rushed around the monastery. Everything wanted everything to be perfect, but he didn't know what that meant in this situation. What's worse, he didn't even know who he could ask for advice. Kai and Nya were possibly the only two who could relate to him now, but Kai's advice was always questionable at best, and he didn't want to burden Nya with his problems. He wished Cole was around.

"Jay, please, sit down for a minute?" Nya asked.

"How can I sit down? I have to finish getting ready!" Jay ran off to see if the table was set for the hundredth time.

Nya followed Jay into the kitchen. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and lowered him into a chair.

"Jay, you need to calm down. It's just dinner," Nya said.

"Just dinner?"

"Yes. Just dinner. Nothing else."

"I'm going to kill Kai when this is over, just so you know."

"Jay…"

"He's the one who got me into this!"

"Well, you weren't going to do it on your own."

"Because I can't do this!" Jay yelled.

"You have to. You've been avoiding this issue ever since we found her."

"Nya, this is the woman who gave birth to me. I didn't even know she was still alive. I didn't know she existed until recently. I don't… I don't want to meet her. I don't want to get to know her. I already have two parents who love me."

"You have to do this. She's been trapped in a cave for over eighteen years. A lot has happened in that time. Her life isn't going to be the same. You need to talk to her."

"I can't."

"I will hide all of your video games and comic books if you back out."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

The two locked eyes for a minute before Jay relented.

"Remember, she didn't abandon you," Nya said as she rubbed his arm.

"Was it this hard when you reunited with your parents?"

"That was different. Especially since Kai thought Dad was a traitor and tried to kill him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Ask Kai."

"Ask me what?" Kai asked as he entered the room.

"Why you tried to kill Dad when we found him."

"Oh. See, Krux told me-"

"Why would you believe anything Krux said to you?"

"What if she hates me?" Jay asked.

"She's not going to hate you. You're her son." Nya kissed Jay on the cheek.

"Nya's right. She just wants to get to know you," Kai added.

"What if she's horrible? What if she's worse than Morgen?" Jay asked.

"I seriously doubt Libby could be worse than Morgen," Nya said.

"I can call my parents and ask them what she was like way back when," Kai offered. He pulled out his phone.

"No, you don't need to do that," Jay said.

"Too late." Kai had called his parents on speaker.

"Hello?" Maya asked.

"Hey, Mom. Real quick, you knew Libby a long time ago, right?"

"Yes. During the Serpentine War."

"What was she like? Jay wants to know."

"Chatty. She was always going on about her husband, the actor. 'My husband, the actor, did this. My husband, the actor, said this in his letter. I just love my husband, the actor. He is so amazing and an actor,'" Maya said in a high pitched voice.

"Oh, not this again," Ray muttered in the background.

"Never wanted to gag someone so much in my life. I don't know how Ice put up with her."

"Ice?" Kai asked.

"I think that was the guy who died," Nya whispered.

"He raised her. Don't get me wrong, she was really nice, she just would not shut up. Your dad thinks he knows how bad she was, but he didn't have to room with her," Maya explained.

Kai glanced up when he saw Lloyd in the living room, motioning to the front door.

"I have to go. I think she's here." Kai hung up the phone.

"Here? She can't be here! It's too early! I can't do this!" Jay sprang up and ran to his room before anyone could stop him.

"False alarm! It's just Zane," Lloyd called as Zane entered the monastery carrying a grocery bag.

"Did something happen?" Zane asked.

"Jay locked himself in his room," Kai explained.

"That is not good. Libby will be here in half an hour. I should start on dinner."

Lloyd sighed and followed Kai down the hall. Nya was already knocking on his door.

"Please come out," Nya pleaded.

"No! And Cole's not here, so you can't break down my door!"

"We have a dojo full of weapons that says I can," Lloyd challenged.

"Cole's hammer and scythe are in his room, I think," Nya said.

"I'll get them." Kai opened Cole's bedroom door and saw the weapons leaning against the closet. He grabbed the hammer and stopped when he couldn't lift it.

"Holy crap," Kai said as he dragged the hammer into the hall.

"Heavy?" Nya asked.

"How the heck does he lift this?"

"Super strength," Lloyd said as he took the handle from Kai. He tried to lift the hammer but too struggled.

"See?" Kai asked.

"Wow. Jay, you should get out here and try to lift this thing. Seriously."

"No!" Jay said.

Kai brought the slightly lighter but still heavy scythe into the hallway. He had just managed to pick it up and was about to swing it at the door when Wu spotted them.

"What are you doing?" Wu yelled.

"Jay won't come out of his room," Lloyd explained.

"So, you thought you would break the door down?"

"Um…"

"Jay! Get out here!" Wu demanded.

Jay cracked the door open and peered out.

"All the way," Wu said.

Jay opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"I'm only going to say this once: I want each and every one of you on your best behavior tonight. Anyone who misbehaves will be scrubbing the floor of the _Bounty_ with toothbrushes. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sensei." The four bowed.

"Good. Kai, put those back where you found them."

"But they're heavy," Kai whined.

"Kai," Wu growled.

"Yes, Sensei."

Kai worked on dragging the scythe and hammer back into Cole's room while Lloyd and Nya dragged Jay into the kitchen. They managed to coax him into a chair.

Twenty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Lloyd answered the door since Jay was paralyzed with fear. Nya stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

"Hi, come on in," Lloyd said.

"Thank you… Can I get some water?" Libby gasped.

"Yeah. Right this way."

"That was a lot of steps," Libby said as she followed Lloyd.

Lloyd got her a glass of water, which she chugged down.

"I am so out of shape. Can't exactly work out in a cave," Libby chuckled.

"Guess not."

"Hi, Jay," Libby said when she noticed him staring.

"Hi," Jay replied.

"Look at you. How old are you again?"

"Nineteen."

"Wow. You're a lot bigger than I remember. Course, you were twelve and a half months when I last saw you. I can't believe your father gave you up. If he was still alive, I'd kill him. I can't believe he's dead! He wasn't that old! He was an actor, you know."

Kai rolled his eyes and grabbed a stack of plates.

"You must be Ray's kid," Libby said.

"Yeah," Kai said.

"I can tell."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have that same look when you're annoyed. Well, good for him I say. I wasn't sure if he would have the guts to take a relationship that far, especially after he disappeared in the middle of the night. Broke Maya's heart. She vowed to track him down, probably threatened to cut off body parts if he didn't give her a good answer. And she was a pirate, so you know she could do it."

"Mom was a pirate?" Nya asked.

"Well, she never used that word, but she was from Stiix, her parents were in the 'high-risk naval acquisitions' business, she used a cutlass, she read maps and sky charts well, she spent a lot of time on ships, and she talked about growing up around a bunch of rowdy men. If that doesn't scream pirate, I don't know what does."

"I think I need to call Mom back," Kai said.

"Not now," Nya whispered.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"Zane, please tell me dinner's ready," Lloyd called.

"A few more minutes," Zane yelled.

"Jay, tell Libby about yourself," Nya demanded.

"I think I'd rather hear more about your parents. If Maya was a pirate, what was Ray?" Jay asked.

"That's a story for another time," Wu said as he entered.

"Hey, Wu. Long time no see," Libby smiled.

"Hello, Libby. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, I guess. Kind of wish Ice was still here. Though, to be fair, the dude was old when I met him. I know he said he wasn't, but the guy was old. Not old like you, but old. He lived a good, long life. Unlike Cliff. How could he be dead?" Libby sat down and put her head in her arms on the table.

"Uh…" Lloyd looked at the others, who were just as confused as he was. Except for Wu, who closed his eyes and sighed.

"Anyway, how's your friend doing?" Libby asked as she sat up.

"Cole? He's getting better. He still can't really move or talk, but they have him in therapies," Jay said.

"It's his dad that's the problem," Kai muttered.

"I still can't believe Hermes has a kid, much less a grandkid. I realize he's married but I don't see how anyone could stand to be with him longer than a few hours. His wife is a saint. I've never met her, but she has to be a saint to stick with him for so long."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Nya admitted.

The others murmured their agreement before the room was plunged into another awkward silence.

"So what sort of things are you interested in?" Libby asked after a while.

"Oh, this and that. Mostly I like to invent stuff," Jay said.

"When you're not playing video games," Nya muttered.

"What do you invent?" Libby asked.

"Uh, you know, stuff," Jay said.

"Stop being modest. It was you who made the _Bounty_ fly. And you made the sparring bots. And the gliders. And-" Kai said.

"Okay! I get it. I've invented a lot," Jay interrupted.

"It's one of the things I love about you." Nya hugged Jay from behind and kissed his cheek.

"Dinner is served." Zane placed a crown roast in the middle of the table.

"Looks good," Nya said as she sat down next to Jay.

"Are you two a couple? 'Cause it looks like you are from my perspective," Libby asked.

"Yes," Jay said.

"We were going to get married three months ago, but Morgen happened and we decided to postpone," Nya explained.

"It didn't feel right to move forward with Cole in a coma. But now that he's awake, he can be my best man once he gets out."

"It's going to be a while before he's released, Jay," Lloyd pointed out.

"And once he is released, he will still probably have some recovering to do," Zane added.

"I know that. It's not like we're getting married this week.," Jay argued.

"Yeah, once we pick a new date, we're going to have to replan everything," Nya said.

Jay loudly groaned and sank in his seat.

"Jay…"

"No. We already planned everything once. Just use those exact same decisions and move them to a different date. I won't even complain about the stuff you picked, just please don't make me do that again."

Nya grinned mischievously.

"Okay, Nya, I have to ask. If you had known Cole was stupid rich back when he and Jay were fighting over you, would you have picked him?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, I certainly would've thought about it more. No, I made the right choice. Cole will make some girl very happy one day, but that girl isn't me." Nya squeezed Jay's hand.

"I remember when I was young and in love. Back when the world seemed so simple and Cliff and I had our whole lives ahead of us. Then this guy came by and asked for our help. I told him no unless I got to marry Cliff first." Libby said as she touched her wedding ring.

"I remember that. Garmadon was not happy with you," Wu said.

"Yeah, I still don't care what Garmadon thinks, but Ice, man I hadn't seen him that angry since I stole his wallet. 'You're sixteen, don't throw your life away for a boy.'"

"I'm sure Ice was just doing what he thought was right."

"Yeah, well, I don't know about now, but back then, you only had to be thirteen before you legally live on your own and get a job. I know they were thinking about raising it to sixteen."

"It's still thirteen, but you can technically be an unpaid apprentice as young as ten, not that anyone will hire a ten-year-old. Most people wait until they're fifteen or sixteen before they get their first job, after they get a driver's license, and most people also leave home around that same time," Kai said.

"I see," Libby said.

"I'm curious, how did you meet Ice?" Zane asked.

"I stole his wallet. He would say I didn't, since he got it back, but it was in my hand for a good two to three minutes. When he caught me, he bought me dinner, and one thing led to another and he became my legal guardian. I was surprised when he kept me around, especially after I lied about how long I had been on my own. Not that I got away with it. I had to steal from a human lie detector," Libby said.

"Human lie detector?" Kai asked.

"He was an accounting lawyer. He dealt with people who lied about their money all day long and he was very good at his job. Actually, I met your father through Ice."

"Did he commit tax fraud?" Jay asked, slightly horrified.

"No, nothing like that. Ice also did estate planning stuff, and Cliff hired Ice after his mother died. I don't know if Ice hated Cliff specifically or hated that I was dating one of his clients, but either way, I got multiple lectures about it. But we were talking about marriage when Wu came by, and like I said, I told them I wanted to get married first. We had less than two weeks to throw together a wedding, which somehow we did. Then Ice and I went off to fight Chen. Two and a half years later, I finally got to go on my honeymoon."

"Two weeks to plan a wedding?" Nya asked.

"Yes. I would not recommend that to anyone," Libby said.

After dinner, while the others cleaned, Libby pulled Jay aside so they could talk privately. Nya stayed close to them but out of sight, just in case.

"Jay?" Libby asked as they walked into the courtyard.

"Yes?"

"I want you to know that I really enjoyed tonight. I know this is super awkward, but I thought about you every single day when I was in that cave. I have missed you so much."

"I know it wasn't your fault. Morgen took you and my dad gave me up. I was raised by a really great couple."

"I would love to meet them one day."

"I'm sure they would love to meet you."

"Okay. And I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I would love to see you again. I know you're busy, what with the trial and your friend's recovery, so I understand if you can't, or don't want to see me again."

"No, I… I guess I can try to visit? Like, on Saturdays, maybe, if we aren't busy doing something else."

Libby hugged her son.

* * *

Libby rubbed her arm as she followed Jay into the junkyard. This was where her baby had grown up? Jay walked up to the trailer in the middle of the yard and knocked. An old woman answered the door.

"Jay! How are you, sweetie? What a lovely surprise. Who's your friend?"

"Mom, this is Libby Gordon, my birth mother," Jay said.

"Ed! You both better come inside. Ed, stop whatever you're doing and come here! Ed!"

"What is it, dear?" Ed asked as he came around the corner.

"Jay's brought his birth mother here," Edna said.

"Birth mother?"

"I just wanted to see where Jay was raised," Libby said.

Edna ushered everyone inside and sat down at the round table.

"Oh, I'm sorry about the mess. I didn't realize we were having company today." Edna brushed some crumbs off the table.

"It's okay." Libby was surprised to see how well organized the inside of the trailer was, especially compared to how the yard outside looked.

"Ed, where are those letters?" Edna asked.

"I'll get them." Ed disappeared into the bedroom.

"Jay, why don't you go up to your room, sweetie?"

"I'm not a child, Mom," Jay protested.

"Ed?"

"Jay, listen to your mother," Ed called.

Jay groaned and climbed up a ladder to the loft above Ed and Edna's bedroom, then lowered a small door until it clicked into place.

"That's his room?" Libby asked.

"We don't have much spare room here," Edna explained.

"I can see that."

"Right. Here we are." Ed placed some envelopes onto the table.

"This one was with Jay when we found him," Edna said.

"Where was he?" Libby asked as she opened the envelope. She recognized Cliff's handwriting as she skimmed over the note.

"On our step. He had a blanket around him and he was holding a toy bear. We didn't know he was there until he started to cry. That note was placed under him. A week or so later, we got this letter in the mail that had more information."

"Edna and I talked it over and agreed to adopt him," Ed added.

"Oh, Cliff. Why did you do it?" Libby whispered.

"We didn't know you were still alive. If anyone had come to claim him, of course we would've given him back," Edna said.

"No, I understand. Morgen took me, and I guess Cliff, my husband, thought Jay was in danger. Elemental masters were disappearing left and right, and we knew Jay had my powers. It's just… The whole time I was captive, I thought Cliff would raise Jay by himself. I never imagined he would do something like this. Thank you for taking such good care of him. And please understand I don't want to try and minimize what you've done for him. You raised him. I get it. But I do want a relationship with him."

"That's fine with us, as long as Jay's okay with it," Ed said.

"It's fine with me," Jay called from his bed.

"Jay, how many times do I have to tell you to not eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Edna chastised.

"How many times did I ask you to soundproof my room?"


End file.
